#why is Sokka working at a teashop??

[kigozula]

As Long As We’re Together - Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day 6: Part One

FF.net & AO3

Due to the rules of this event, I decided to split this story in two parts. Otherwise the word count was twice as much. The sequel will be posted next week. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!=)

The moment she sat foot on the ship she wondered if she made a mistake. More so when she arrived at the gates to Ba Sing Se. She knew she needed to escape, but part of her was very aware that she was all alone. Without protecting guards or friends who guided her, even if she did what she wanted in the end. But a princess must do what a princess must do.

When she arrived in Ba Sing Se, she actually wanted to cry out of anger. The weather was different, the air smelled weird, and the clothing was nowhere near the level of quality she was used to. She was here years ago, when she conquered the city. But back then she didn't notice these things, busy with another goal in mind.

Her brother wouldn't find her that easily here. Fire Lord Zuko wouldn't think his sister would land here. Thanks to her lies and pretense and her connections, she made it into the gates. Her true identity is unknown to most of the people here in the middle ring.

She was given a small apartment. She needed to be careful not to spend her money on unnecessary luxuries. Even if they seemed necessary for her. But the money she brought from home was limited. She had to accept a job at a teashop unwillingly. But what choice did she have at the time? This was a start, and she would set a final goal step by step.

After her first day of work, she didn't make it far from the tea shop. Tears started to slip her eyes as she leaned at a nearby wall, hugging herself. She held back for too long. She cried and cried and cried.

"Hey, are you okay?" a concerned male voice reached her ears.

Azula immediately straightened, wiping away her tears with the back of her hands.

"Yes." she answered trying not to sound fragile, which was easier said than done with her puffed eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw the stranger.

"Azula?!"

Out of all the people on this earth, it was him who found her crying.

"Sokka?"

Time seemed to stand still for long minutes. They just kept watching each other. Confused. Surprised. Uncomfortably.

Azula couldn't let her guard down now around this man. She had to react, for Sokka was a friend of her brother. Could it be possible that the reason he was there was to capture her?

"Did you follow me?" Azula asked, taking a threatening step forward.

"No!" Sokka didn't mean to yell, but it came out like that. Yet Azula didn't stop her threatening steps.

Just minutes ago, she was crying bitterly. Now her sorrow seemed to be flown away, replaced by anger. Though, he needed to give her credit. Her eyes were still red from crying, and she was just protecting herself for whatever reason. He needed to convince her that she certainly didn't need to fear him.

"Then why are you here?" Azula was about to use her firebending, but Sokka was faster. He turned her around in a flash and pressed her chest to the wall, trapping her hands behind her back, his grip firm on her wrists. Yet he tried to be gentle, he tried not to hurt her. Experience told him he had to do this, because the woman in front of him wasn't to be taken lightly.

Azula didn't stop moving so he did what he had to do. Sokka pressed his chest to her back. No one talked. Only heavy breaths were heard.

Sokka was a strong man. A proud warrior. Azula struggled against him in the past. Even more than she did against the Avatar.

"Get your hands off me!" Azula said. But her voice came out gasping.

"I will, if you promise me not to attack." Sokka replied. His breath touched her ear.

Azula left out a breathy snicker, "Why would you trust my promise?"

"I would have thought you were a princess who'd keep her promises." Sokka replied.

"I promise." Azula said.

"You have to mean it Azula!" Sokka said.

"What's with you pinning me to walls every time?" she tried to tease.

Sokka turned back in time to the day of black sun. It was good to know she didn't forget about that moment either. The memory was buried inside of him clearly. Especially the moment when she flew over him. He was glad she couldn't see his light blush.

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't give me reasons." he replied, trying not to sound affected.

"Or you look for reasons to press me against walls."

"Hehe, maybe you are looking forward to it every time." Sokka smirked.

"Did Zuko send you to capture me?" Azula asked now, focusing on the present, for she had bigger problems now.

She actually didn't genuinely believe Sokka was here to capture her. But it wouldn't hurt to be sure, just in case.

"For what?" Sokka's confusion grew.

Azula didn't answer.

"I have been working at this teashop for two days. Except for today I needed a day off but came here to fetch my apron. I haven't heard anything from your brother for the last three months." Sokka said earnestly.

Azula believed him. It was true that he had been in the palace three months ago. Sokka let go. She didn't turn around immediately, still processing the latest happenings.

"Azula?" Sokka asked worried. This situation was beyond confusing.

He had questions. But she looked sad. Her eyes swollen from her crying and he wanted to make her feel better.

"Let's go somewhere else and talk. These streets are creepy." he said.

Azula complied. She didn't realize how much she needed a familiar face.

[coolbeansnico]

I've caved. Here's my Avatar The Last Airbender uni au and modern/non bender au headcanons.

Here's what I think the main kids uni majors/minors would be:

Aang: wildlife conservation with a minor in political sciences

Katara: medicine, education minor

Sokka: engineering, polisci minor

Toph: geology with a martial arts minor (changed my mind, education minor)

Zuko: forced to do law & politics by his family but switches to history/anthropology, keeping politics as a minor

Azula: law w a psychology minor

Mai: forced to do politics by family but wants to do art, history minor

Ty Lee: training in acrobatics and performance at a performing arts school and works at the circus

Suki: human relations and activism, martial arts minor

Yue: Dance major (same school as Ty Lee, polisci minor

☆

Living situations:

Katara and Sokka flat together and eventually Aang becomes a permanent resident

Toph lives right across from them, she likes her own space and independence but she'd never want to be too far from her friends

Zuko lives with Iroh above his teashop and works there part time

Suki has a sharehouse with the kyoshi warriors (her hockey team)

Ty Lee and Yue get assigned room-mates first year and became pretty quick friends, they continue to live together afterwards

Azula has her own apartment (of course). So does Mai, but she spends so much time at Azulas she basically lives there. Neither of them would admit it but they much prefer it to having whole houses to themselves.

---

General modern au/non bender au hcs:

(Pretty obvious) Ethnicity n nationality hcs:

Sokka and Katara r Inuit and from Alaska

Azula, Zuko and Mai are all Japanese American

Ty Lee is Japanese and Mongolian

Toph is Chinese and Singaporean (born in Singapore)

Aang is Bhutanese (so is Gyatso), but he grew up in Singapore. Him and Toph were childhood friends

Yue is Inuit and Sámi and her family lives in north-east Canada

Suki is mixed Chinese, Filipino and French-Canadian and live in an island off of Quebec

Have not decided where the uni would be but probably BSSU (Ba Sing Se uni) cause I know a lot of ppl use that as the uni name

I don't know a ton about US and Canadian geography so if y'all have ideas for what states or provinces the characters would hail from (especially what state/city Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee grew up in) I would def appreciate the suggestions

☆

Aang has a Tibetan Mastiff called Appa and Sokka has a Siamese cat called Momo (he found him behind a dumpster looking for food scraps and Sokka knew he'd found a kindred spirit,,, much to Kataras initial dismay)

Aang grew up in a sort of hippie/alternative living foster home that taughtbuddist beliefs, he never knew his real parents but he was okay with that.

I'm a fan of bigcorp ceo Ozai but also political tyrant Ozai works as well so I'm srsly torn on that. Politician Ozai would either have to be a nation ruler or American ambassador because I like to think Zuko and Azula moved around a lot as kids so he couldn't have a job that keeps him in ine place. That's why I like the idea of ceo Ozai. He would still have a lot of political power and it would still mean moving around a lot plus him being super corrupt and exploiting his workers is fun for angst.

Oh and!! Zuko and Azula lived in Singapore for part of highschool and their family visited a lot for holidays. Since Tophs parents and Ozai worked together, Zuko and Azula were around at The Beifongs a lot and entertained themselves by making fun of Toph for hanging out with a "poor tree hugging commoner" like Aang

---

I may add more to this so look out for a part 2

♡♡

I'm currently working on drawing them (and maybe chara profiles with sexualities, pronouns, character aesthetics/how I think they'd dress, interests ect) :] I've done the boys and the (non fire nation) gals are next!!

[lone-star-ranger]

9 for Sokkla and 10 for Jinko?

9) What do they dislike most about the other? Why?      Sokka dislikes Azula’s self-loathing tendencies.  He works to distract her and helps through it, but it’s something that pains him to see it

Azula hates not having control and the two of them have clashed over plans before.  Now they have a rule about events and taking turns.  (It’s a flowchart that Toph metalbent onto their wall.) 10) Do they share any hobbies or interests? How do these things bring them together? They both appreciate theater and tea; they like disguising themselves and slipping into town to find the small plays and tiny teashops.  Several plays have gone from an audience of twenty people to playing in the Royal theater overnight as a result.

[aboutiroh]

I will open the door pleasantly surprised, it’s not every day someone willing to listen to my hyperspecific and incoherent au ideas presents themselves at my front door! So please come on in, I already put the kettle on the stove.

…

45 minutes into my monologue:

“And then one day, Sokka is pouting at the Jasmine Dragon, right? Sipping on his third cup of mint tea when Iroh (who’s feeling equally lousy that day) finally caves in and asks what’s wrong.

‘I just can’t seem to arrange a meeting to pitch my ideas at Jennamind inc.’ Sokka will say, and Iroh will answer with ‘You already lost me’.

Then Sokka will explain that Jennamind inc. is one of the most succesful invention investment companies that every aspiring entrepreneur is dying to get into. He will follow by adding that it’s as mysterious as it is succesful and nobody knows who the CEO is or how their business model works.

‘hm, sounds like it’s not worth the effort. Why not start your own company?’ Iroh will suggest.

Sokka will sigh and reply that he doesn’t have time running a company as he’s triple majoring in political science, psychology and bio-engineering. ‘And Katara always ends up getting arrested at some protest, I have my hands full, Iroh.’

‘You don’t have to do it alone, I’m sure my nephew would be interested in joining you’

‘I’m asking so much from him lately.. He’s already helped when Katara got in legal trouble for posting that video where she cancelled Pakku. And let’s not forget, he helped Aang with the lawsuit for tax evasion when we found out he hadn’t been paying taxes for his meditation studio.’

‘Ah right, it’s strange nobody taught him what taxes are.’

At that point, a customer will walk into the teashop and Iroh will immediately snarl ‘we don’t sell drugs here, get out!’

This will surprise Sokka, as Iroh usually doesn’t lose his calm that easily.

‘You still got that reputation, huh?’

That’s Iroh’s cue to sigh and pout.

Sokka will continue with ‘I don’t get the problem though, you have more customers than ever now, isn’t that a good thing?’

‘Not exactly. Last week, a nice gentleman asked if I had the good stuff. I got excited to meet a fellow tea enthusiast and opened a box with the best quality ginseng tea in the entire country. He laughed at my face. Those kids have no respect for tea.’

Then suddenly, Iroh will start smiling.

‘Sokka, if you help me weed out the non-tea customers, I can try and set up a meeting with that CEO’

And that’s how chapter 1 will end. Would you like some extra cookies?”

actually the reason i'm not big on modern aus is because it feels cruel to make jeong jeong get a job under modern capitalism. that bitch is unemployable

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

thoughts on bi!zuko? it's one of my biggest hcs

IN THIS HOUSE, WE LOVE AND SUPPORT Bi!Zuko

headcanons: 

I know that there’s comic stuff about Sozin being homophobic, but I am within my rights to ignore it. If people can move rocks with their mind and if dragons can exist, there can be normalized gay people damn it. 

So it’s not really a big deal to question your sexuality or to be gay/bi, but within the Fire Nation upper class you don’t really talk about it. There’s a heteronormativity problem, but not aggressive homophobia. 

When he’s younger, Zuko doesn’t really think about anyone like that. He’s got firebending training, sword training, and then he’s crowned prince all of a sudden, so he’s kind of got other stuff going on. 

Mai has a crush on him when she’s 12 and he’s 13 and he starts to develop some puppy-crush feelings from her. 

They do a cute pre-teen date where they play with knives outside the palace and climb on roofs (Maiko does parkour on their dates, I don’t make the rules) 

Mai’s really the only person he’s had feelings for by this point (again, he’s 13 and he’s been pretty busy being a prince and all to think about that sort of thing) 

Then the whole banishment thing happens and he really does not have time to start thinking about those things. Hunting the avatar is a full time gig. Angst baby Zuko does not have time to sit and wonder if he thinks boy are cute.

(aside from this one time when his ship docked at this port and there was a cute sales boy at the shop they got their supplies from who made 14 year old Zuko blush just a little too hard. He made the decision to put a pin in that for later) 

Then Zuko’s on a ferry to Ba Sing Se and there’s this crime boy aggressively flirting with him. The avatar hunt is on hold. It’s later, so Zuko takes that mental pin out. 

Zuko can have a little ferry make out sess with mouth wheat crime boy, as a treat (let this boy have some semi-normal teenage experiences damn it)

To Jet’s credit, he’s a good kisser. But Zuko notes that he tastes like grass. 

And you know, that whole thing didn’t end well. 

Not your usual experience to have the guy who was your bisexual awakening burst into your work and (rightly) accuse you and your uncle of being firebenders and then attack you with hook swords, but Zuko’s never had the best luck with anything. 

Jet gets arrested and Zuko doesn’t see him again, but he can’t really ignore that whole ‘oh man I guess I am into guys’ thing anymore. And it’s not like he’s got other stuff to do in Ba Sing Se besides make tea and stave off Iroh’s shopaholic tendencies. 

Immediately after the Jet incident, Zuko’s more on his guard about potential threats, but what do you know? That girl just thought you were cute you paranoid dumbass. 

He goes on the date with Jin and it’s awkward as hell, but he does like it when she kisses him. Honestly, he’s not really sure what he’s supposed to feel. This newfound attraction to guys is still in the back of his brain and Zuko just never thought about it seriously before. 

After the date he starts letting himself take more notice of guys and girls in the teashop now that he’s pretty sure people aren’t onto them about being firebenders. 

And you know.... good looking customers are good looking customers. Guys and girls. 

But you know, Zuko is the king of not knowing who the fuck he is, so it’s still confusing, 

And then the avatar pops back up and Zuko’s got a different identity crisis to focus on. The boy has a morality coma to get to and questioning his sexuality is put on the back burner for a bit. 

Post-morality coma, Zuko’s feeling way more comfortable. Not just in terms of letting himself be happy in Ba Sing Se serving tea with his uncle, but with his sexuality as well. 

Zuko thinks about his experiences and maybe, just maybe, he could be a teenager who goes on normal teenager dates and has normal teenage relationships, maybe with guys or girls. He lets himself have that notion for a little while. 

He considers telling Iroh, but not quite yet. 

He doesn’t get the chance after everything happens in the catacombs. 

Then it’s the case where he has a more general identity crisis to deal and just kind of pushes the realization that he’s bi to the back of his mind. 

Zuko and Mai get together and Zuko remembers how much he liked her when they were younger. And with everything else stressing him out, she’s there to help him feel like less of a stranger in his own home. 

(Mai’s also Zuko’s best friend, regardless of any romance) 

At Ember Island he does have jealousy issues, but later when Mai asks him why he was so fixated on that guy at the party Zuko starts describing exactly why those guys were attractive and how he logically would have been at least a little jealous “I mean come on Mai did you see that one guy’s biceps? I’m only partially blind” 

Mai listens to this and just goes “do you want to ... tell me something?” 

Zuko has a “oh yeah I’m pretty sure I’m bi, forgot to mention it, had other stuff going on” moment 

Mai, who was taught to be proper and that her options were to go into politics or marry some man above her station, is now considering that both? Both is an option? Maybe? 

Cut to Zuko when he joins the gaang. His bisexuality is just kind of something he doesn’t think is a big deal and doesn’t mention it. 

On the air balloon to the Boiling Rock, Zuko asks Sokka about Yue and they end up talking about relationships. 

Zuko mentions that he had this brief thing with a guy in Ba Sing Se but it didn’t really end well 

Sokka: “wait did you say guy? I thought you had a girlfriend?” 

the SWT is generally pretty accepting, but Sokka spent most of his life living in a village without many boys his age and didn’t really consider that as a possibility. 

(Sokka then considers how much he thought about the Boulder after watching the Earth Rumble VI match and thinks ‘yeah there’s probably something there’) 

Sokka asks Zuko more about bisexuality. Most of Zuko’s answers are along the lines of “Sokka go to sleep I don’t know who the Boulder is and I don’t care about his badger-mole tattoo”

Suki, Zuko, and Sokka form the unofficial ‘cool and bi club’ 

Zuko doesn’t officially come out to Iroh, but Iroh catches him looking at Sokka one day a while after he and Mai broke up (deciding they were better as friends) and makes a comment about how Zuko needs to take time for himself.

“Lord Zuko, you should not spend your teenage years with nothing but work. Go out, find a nice young lady to take out.” “Uncle...” “..or young man” 

And yeah, a few years after the war ends and a while after he and Mai end their relationship, Zuko’s not really in the position to deny that he thinks that Sokka is inhumanely attractive and funny and kind

But yeah

bi!Zuko ftw 

[zuko-always-lies]

i think they were going for iroh finally deciding to stop being subservient to the fire nation in the siege of the north, when zhao tries to, yknow, kill the moon, and then him finally deciding to actively fight against the fire nation when he broke out of prison, thinking zuko "lost his way" in book 3. then him retaking ba sing se was supposed to be his ultimate redeeming moment. however, this doesn't work well if this was what they were going for, because of course doing "one good thing" doesn't automatically redeem him, especially when he doesn't decide to do anything after the war other than profit from the people he once tried to conquer via his tea shop. it could also support him not having compassion for those he doesn't see, as i believe ultranos made a post about how his violent retaking of ba sing se could affect the people more directly and negatively than azula's coup did. thoughts?

So I don't see Iroh's actions in "The Siege of the North" being anything other than trying to stop Zhao from screwing absolutely everyone in the world over. Iroh has not decided to take a general stand against the Fire Nation there. Definitely, afterwards he goes back to hanging out and engaging in hedonism at a Fire Nation resort, and he only becomes a fugitive because of Ozai's orders. Even then, Iroh's reaction is to try to run and hide and live a life as a teashop owner rather than draw on his considerable resources to fight back. This decision to hide persists for the rest of Book 2.

When Azula begins her conquest of Ba Sing Se, Iroh seems to come to some sort of decision that he has to fight back against the Fire Nation, something he sticks to the rest of the series. Honestly, him helping Aang and Katara escape in "The Crossroads of Destiny" is his finest moment in the series.

Yet after that he regresses. He tries to point Zuko in the right direction, but implicit in what he tells Zuko is that Zuko should be the one to teach firebending to Aang and be the one to lead the Fire Nation into a new era, even though Iroh would be better suited for both these tasks. And it only gets worse from here.

You see, Iroh's big contribution toward "saving the world" is gathering the White Lotus to retake Ba Sing Se. On a surface level, that's a very reasonable objective(although the invention of airships probably greatly decreases Ba Sing Se's defensive value). But then Zuko and the Gaang show up, inform him of Ozai's plans, and beg for Iroh's help. At that point, there are several extremely critical military objectives which much be accomplished(in order of importance):

1. Stopping the Fire Nation airship fleet from killing millions of people

2. Defeating the Firelord

3. Defeating Azula and carrying out a coup in the Fire Nation.

All these objectives need to be accomplished in order to win the war. Failing to accomplish any one of them would result in pyrrhic victory at best. All of these objectives all more important than taking Ba Sing Se, and taking Ba Sing Se is pointless if you win the war through accomplishing all three. Iroh has access to five of the most powerful fighters in the world, so he has ample strength to throw behind any of these.

Yet he chooses to prioritize the conquest of Ba Sing Se beyond all reason. He lets Aang face Ozai alone, something which nearly results in Aang's death. He lets Sokka, Suki, and Toph take responsibility for stopping the airship fleet, even though only one of them is a bender, even though they could easily have failed, and Sokka and Toph nearly die as a result. Most importantly, Iroh sends Zuko and Katara into the lion's den alone, something which almost certainly would have resulted in Zuko and Katara being killed or captured by Azula, the imperial firebenders, and the Dai Li if Azula hadn't had her breakdown(and even breakdown Azula comes very close to defeating both of them). Why does Iroh act like?

Iroh: Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. (Cut to a close up of Iroh) When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. (Camera pans across the various members of the Gaang) Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again.

...

Iroh: Goodbye, everyone. (Cut to a frontal shot of Iroh looking up at his nephew) Today, (he closes his eyes and lowers his head) destiny is our friend. (he opens his eyes and looks back up again) I know it.

It looks suspiciously like the "liberation" of Ba Sing Se is an ego trip primarily done to "fulfill" Iroh's "Destiny." Taking Ba Sing Se also allows Iroh and the White Lotus to ensure that King Kuai is restored to power, because I can't imagine anyone in the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se actually wanting him back unless he was forcibly imposed from above.

Now, we turn to the question of damage to Ba Sing Se. This raises the question of why the White Lotus attacked Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet? The Fire Nation troops they are fighting are strongest then, and the uncontrolled and power-boasted firebending they wielded likely resulted in a lot of collateral damage. Well, I would say that we also get an explanation for that:

Iroh: Only once every hundred years can a firebender experience this kind of power.

So it's another part of Iroh's ego trip, allowing him to experience the exhilaration of fighting while Sozin's Comet boasts his power and allowing him to take the majority of the credit(and if you wonder why the other members of the White Lotus are OK with this, remember that three of the five known members are deeply questionable in their own ways).

Ultimately, the White Lotus's pointless "liberation" of Ba Sing Se likely resulted in widespread destruction in the city. "Dragon of the West" Iroh joked about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground; "redeemed" Iroh's ego trip to "liberate" the city during Sozin's Comet probably resulted in large portions of Ba Sing Se burning to the ground.

So, I don't think Iroh's "one good act" was actually that good an act. This was not the intention of the writers, but the way they wrote Iroh behaving contains so many disturbing implications, and this is probably true in "Sozin's Comet" more than anywhere else.

Edit: I didn’t make this clear, but I’m sure Iroh rationalized his actions as being the “right thing to do” and the “the only possible course of action.” He’s very good a rationalizing his failures and flaws.

Fun fact: Friedrich Paulus actually ended up defecting to the Allied cause after being captured at Stalingrad. In terms of German World War II generals, he seems to have his hands relatively clean and as far as I know was never accused of war crimes. Yet I don't see taking over managing a tea shop in the city he destroyed after the war.

[aquariuscurly94]

In Sickness and Health

Summary: Zuko knows that Katara is sick but we all know Katara, she is extremely stubborn. Will she finally realize that she is indeed sick and will let Zuko help her feel better?

AN: As always, I do not own anything Avatar related, just the plot of the one-shot. BTW, Katara is stubborn as always lol, Happy reading!!

Zuko wants to do something. He wants to step in, but knew that if he did, he would get an earful about it.

He narrowed his gaze as he watched Katara walking around the teashop, covering her mouth with her elbow after a cough as she wipes down the table after the customers had left after drinking their warm tea. He shook his head, muttering to himself that he wishes that she would just go home already and that he could handle the shop on his own. He has done it before when his uncle would ask him to close the Jasmine Dragon.

He placed the broom that he was using up against the nearby wall, sighing as he walked over to the blue-eyed grad student and grabbed the cleaning supplies from her hands. “Go home Katara,” he ordered.

Katara glared up at him, reaching over to grab the cleaning supplies for the wooden tables from his hands. “I am fine. It’s just allergies. It is nearing springtime after all,” she said, rolling her eyes as she moved to a different table to wipe down.

Zuko narrowed his golden eyes at her as he watches silently cleaning off the tables. He crossed his arms above his chest, shaking his head at the stubbornness of his long-time friend.

He decided to let it go for now and took care of customers that was coming in, asking them what kind of tea they would like to have.

When Zuko first met Katara, he thought that they wouldn’t get along because of her stubbornness mostly and her know-it-all attitude that she would display at times during their conversations together. However, the longer that they’ve been working together, the more he feels like he could read her at times. This time though, he can barely read her at all and he thinks that maybe it was because she was sick was the reason why.

Throughout the evening, Zuko made sure to keep a watchful eye on Katara, making sure that she didn’t fall over against the tables as she was taking customers tea orders. He knew that she was pushing herself because she didn’t want to go home even though she was clearly sick as a turtleduck.

Again, she is stubborn.

He’s not sure why he cares so much about her health though. They were just co-workers and friends working at his uncle’s teashop part-time while studying at Ba Sing Se University full time. He feels like he would do the same thing if it were her brother Sokka and their friends Aang, Toph and Suki.

He looked up from his tiny notepad that he was writing his customers orders on to take a watchful look on Katara who was sitting down at one of the tables, blowing her nose with a tissue. He frowned and tapped the notepad with his pen, walking away from the table to walk over towards her. “Katara.”

Katara scoffed at Zuko, rolling her azure eyes at him. “What are you, my dad?” she asked, shaking her head as she got up to throw away her used tissue into a trash bin, turning around and placed her hands onto her hips. “I said I am fine, Zuko. Just leave me alone already,” she told him hotly, huffing as she grabbed a tray full of tea and brought over to a table that was full of elderly women.

Zuko threw up his hands in frustration, shaking his head as he looked over at the clock that was hanging above the counter. There’s only a couple of more hours left before closing, hopefully by then, Katara would feel better. If not, he will make her go home for the night and he didn’t care if she would fight him.

He wished that the time would move faster though. He doesn’t understand as to why time moves so slow when it was near closing time.

Zuko sucked in a breath when he glanced over to see Katara washing the teacups with a cloth, and he could hear her sniffles from across the shop. He sighed heavily through his nose as he went over to lock the door of the shop. He made his way over to a table and started to place the chairs on top of the of the tables and he could hear Katara walking over to attempt to help him, but he held up a hand to stop her. “I got the rest of this. Go home,” he ordered, not caring if she was sending him a death glare.

“I told you over and over Zuko, it’s just allergies,” Katara said in protest, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Zuko ignored her and just simply looked at her, knowing full well just by one look that it wasn’t just allergies as Katara claimed it was. He rolled his golden eyes and reached out with a hand towards her, scoffing when Katara tried to back away from him. “I’m checking something,” he explained, using a hand to lightly touch her forehead, frowning at how burning hot it was. “You’re burning up.”

Katara reached up to her forehead as if she didn’t believe him and widen her blue eyes after she had touched it. “It… wasn’t burning all day.” She told him quietly, turning her head slightly when she felt a cough come up from her throat. “Great, now I’m coughing.”

Zuko didn’t say ‘I told you so’ even though he secretly wanted to, but instead he just simply walked over around the counter and grabbed a couple of ingredients for a certain type of tea.

Katara walked over to stand next to him, watching him as he put the ingredients together and lifted a brow. “Is that what I think it is?”

Zuko gave her a side-eye glance, waiting for her to continue her guessing games, knowing that him and Uncle Iroh have been teaching her about different types of teas since the first day she had. “Don’t know. What do you think it could be, Katara?”

He watches her looking at the tea bag that he was tying the knot and waiting for the kettle to get done. “Any guesses?” he prompted with a small smirk on his face.

“Is it Chamomile?” she asked him, cocking her head on the side.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Zuko asked her, keeping an eye on the kettle that was on the stove.

“I’ll know it when I taste it.”

Zuko sighed and didn’t say anything more when the loud shriek of the kettle sounded, and he had walked over to turn off the stove. “There’s a spare bedroom upstairs, go lay down and I’ll bring up the tea.” He instructed. He half inspected Katara to protest again, but surprisingly, she didn’t and he could hear her walking up the small set of stairs that would lead her to a spare bedroom.

After mixing the water and the tea bag together, Zuko made his way upstairs to the spare bedroom and he could see Katara laying down facing away from him. The two didn’t say anything when he placed the tea down on a nightstand.

“Feeling any different?” Zuko asked her, breaking the stillness that was between them as he sat down at the tip of the bed, watching her turn around to face him. She shook her head at him and Zuko reached out with a hand to touch her forehead like he had done earlier. “It’s still warm,” he noted with a frown, reaching over to grab the tea. “Here.”

He watches Katara scrunched up her nose at the smell, but she slowly drank some of the tea. “Any guesses yet?”

“It almost tasted like apple, and it also have a honey-like sweetness to it,” Katara said, taking another timid sip of the tea to see if she could figure out what kind of tea she was drinking. “It also has an herbal smell to it.” She observed, taking another sip and licked her lips. “I was right! It was Chamomile!”

Zuko’s lip quirked upwards at the correct answer. “You’re getting better at naming teas.” He told her and Katara scoffed at him. “Just sleep here for tonight, I’ll make sure to call Sokka that you’ll be sleeping here tonight. Get well.” He made his way over to the door to leave the room to leave Katara alone.

“I feel like we are husband and wife, taking care of one another when one is sick.” She said with a laugh. “What is it that they say during a wedding ceremony? I can’t remember.”

Zuko scoff at her with a shake of his head but decided to answer her anyways. “I believe it’s in sickness and in health or something along those lines?”

“Something like that,” Katara agrees, placing the empty cup of tea back onto the nightstand that was next to her and snuggled back into the bed comfortably. “Even though we are not married, thank you for taking care of me. Even though I was a bit stubborn in the beginning.”

Zuko rolled his golden eyes at her and nodded his head. “Just get better soon, Katara.”

“I’ll do my best, Zuko. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

[oldpotatoe]

to make up for the Other Thing, today i thought about a backwards flwogb. trickster spirit gives sokka a lil head bonk and instead of losing his memories gives him false ones based on his own wishful thinking, where he and zuko have been dating even though they aren’t, and wakes up like “oh zuko no worries babe *smooch * i’m fine” and zuko, who has been secretly in love with him forever, is like “🙂 ....excuse me what” (potential for comedy? yes. potential for zuko angsting??? also yes 🥰)

backwards flwogb... aka... feels like we only go forwards? I may have failed a-level maths, but even I know two negatives equal a positive. quick maffs

god blee your brain though. imagine sokka, who before this moment had grown a tad too touchy feely with zuko anyway-- hand lingering too long on zuko's shoulder, hugs that were tight in the best of ways, a quick ruffle of hair in passing that always annoyed zuko at first before that very same hand would tuck the now-loose strands behind his good ear, making zuko blush in the process-- that very same sokka now grabbing zuko by the collar and pulling him in to plant a massive smooch on his cheek.

"you worry too much, babe," says sokka with a fond eye roll, pushing himself off the bed.

zuko just stands there and tries not to self-combust. "oh no."

because how much of this new sokka is the bump to the head, and how much is it just... sokka losing his inhibitions + muddling his daydreams together to think he and zuko are already a thing?

but zuko doesn't know this. zuko thinks he's just taking advantage of sokka in this vulnerable state. tries to avoid him at all costs. talks as little to him as possible, and pretends he doesn't see the hurt look on sokka's face. holes himself up in his office and hopes the self-loathing doesn't hurt bury everything he's worked so hard to build within himself these last x years

but also insert shenanigans where sokka tries His Damnedest™ to arrange cutesy dates with zuko/ give him back massages to relieve his stress-- haha sokka baby don't you know you ARE the stress--/ basically tries his best to be a good attentive boyfriend while everyone around them is like, "uhh... do we... say? anything? is the fire lord being harassed by the swt ambassador?" (what's the atla version of HR, I wonder?)

until one day, zuko finds himself giving up, giving in to the urge of just... letting himself be loved by the object of his affections. being selfish never felt so good. doesn't help the way he hates himself, for letting sokka believe in the lies he spins around himself while zuko just stands there and watches helplessly.

it can't last. the guilt gets too much. zuko gently breaks up with sokka. "I just don't feel the same about you," he lies through gritted teeth, heart aching. "oh," says sokka, heartbreak evident in his voice and his face and every line of his body and. and zuko can't do this anymore. he flees to iroh's teashop, taking up his allocated days off to serve tea mindlessly, avoiding iroh's gentle prodding and generally being miserable.

anyway when sokka [insert fix to head that resets him a la buzz lightyear spanish mode] and regains his memories, the first thing he does is go storming to ba sing se, absolutely pissed.

"you idiot," he says. "why?"

zuko's mouth flaps open and shut. "uncle's having a sale on the ginseng," he says uselessly, "buy two cups and get the third one--"

"shut UP," growls sokka, crowding into zuko's space. the old ladies on table 4 ooh and aah over this exciting new development to their lunchtime pai sho session. iroh quietly tops up their tea.

"I saw the way you looked at me," says sokka, a lot more quieter now. "when I thought we were together. you-- you love me, don't you?"

and what can zuko say to that, except-- "yes," he says, eyes slipping shut in shame. "I'm sorry for not ending it sooner, I never meant to take advantage of you, I--"

a hand, warm and calloused, winds it's way through the strands slipped loose out of zuko's bun, tucking them behind his ear. it's the same way sokka's always done it, a quietly intimate moment in the otherwise loudness that's always accompanied their interactions. what's new is the way the hand cups his cheek, prompting zuko's eyes to flutter open.

"I love you too," he says.

zuko finds his hand drifting up to clasp sokka's, pushing it away. "you-- you're still-- it's still the-- sokka, it wasn't real--"

"it's always been real to me," says sokka like it's a confession. "I've been in love with you for a long time, now. the head bump just made it-- more."

"aww," say the little old ladies from the back. iroh wipes a tear away from his cheek, gratefully accepting a napkin from mrs ling.

"oh," says zuko, still uselessly, but with a growing warmth in his chest. "well."

"... I tell you all that," disbelief lines sokka's voice, "and all you can say is well? I practically swam across the oceans for you! I had to drop all my duties-- do you even know the shit that's waiting for me when I get back? ambassador chengueng's going to have my head on a-- oomph."

yeah they're kissing. half the jasmine dragon is applauding. the other half is grumbling about terrible service and uncomfortable displays of public affection. iroh just shoves coupons upon the latter and shoves everyone except his hopeless nephew and his equally hopeless was-then-wasnt-now-is-boyfriend out the doors, the end.

[backhurtyy]

9, 16, or 51, whichever you want to do/haven’t done yet 🥰!

9. “You really thought I was dead?”

16. “I want you to be happy…even if its not with me.”

i guess warning for jealousy?? not possessive or anything, more nervous i-really-love-you-and-this-person-unexpectedly-came-back-into-our-life-please-don’t-leave-me jealousy

Returning to Ba Sing Se after the war always felt distinctly like coming home to Zuko. He loved the Fire Nation, he really did, but there were so many bad memories locked away inside empty rooms and shadows decorating blank walls to ever allow it to feel like home. But in Ba Sing Se, strolling into his uncle’s teashop with Sokka’s hand clasped in his and his crown tossed into the bottom of the bag on his shoulder, those memories and shadows slipped away. Instead, there were warm memories of lazy afternoons serving tea to his uncle and friends and the sounds of bright laughter filling the shop, and he felt like he was home.

“You’re awfully smiley,” Sokka laughed as they approached the Jasmine Dragon. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Just that it feels like I’m home, is all. We haven’t been here in a long time, and it’s... It’s really nice. I don’t know if that sounds crazy, but-“

“No, it doesn’t. I feel it too,” he said warmly. “It’s easier here, somehow.”

Zuko nodded, pressing a kiss to Sokka’s forehead as they crossed the threshold of the shop. His uncle was standing behind the counter, and when he saw them come in his face split into a wide grin.

“Zuko! Sokka!” he exclaimed, rushing towards them. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

He dropped Sokka’s hand to meet his uncle’s embrace, sighing at the familiar smell of jasmine tea that hung around him. “Hi Uncle. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too. It’s been too long.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just got so busy with work and it was hard to find the time to come visit.”

“It’s okay to take breaks, Zuko. You don’t have to be Fire Lord all the time.”

Zuko wanted to say that wasn’t true- that the Fire Nation still had so far to go and that work couldn’t always wait, and also point out that he was the one to insist Zuko take this job- but before he could Sokka was hugging his uncle and proclaiming, “Yeah, that’s why he has me. To make sure he’s talking a whole bunch of breaks.”

His uncle laughed. “I knew he’d be in good hands.”

“Yeah yeah,” he muttered, though he smiled at Sokka fondly and began walking toward the kitchen, where the stairs leading to his uncle’s apartment were. “Can we just drop our bags off, the come back down?”

“Of course. Although this reminds me I have a new employee, and I think it’s someone you’ll be relieved to see! He’s in the back.”

Zuko furrowed his brow, wondering who he could possibly be talking about considering all the people he would want to see were very much not in Ba Sing Se. Well, except Sokka, but it wasn’t like he was his new employe. Still, he just shrugged and pushed aside the curtain to go into the kitchen- only to stop when he saw a tall figure with shaggy black hair, a persistent stalk of wheat sticking out of his mouth. Suddenly, he felt like he was on the ferry to Ba Sing Se all over again.

Sokka, not noticing that Zuko had stopped, crashed into him. “Zuko, wha-“ He stopped too, staring at Jet with his jaw hanging open. “Jet?”

He looked up them, one eyebrow raised and smirking. “Hey Sokka,” he greeted coolly. “And if it isn’t Lee... Or I guess Fire Lord Zuko, I should say.”

“I- What?” he stuttered, not entirely understanding how, much less why, Jet was in his uncle’s tea shop. The first because last he’d heard Jet was dead, and the second because last he’d checked Jet hated him and his uncle. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I work here? I’m the new hire,” he said, crossing his arms and cocking his hip out.

“You- How?” Sokka asked, his face wrinkled in confusion. “At Lake Laogai you died. I mean, you got crushed under the rock and you-“

“Wait,” Jet laughed. “You really thought I was dead?”

Sokka and Zuko shared a confused glance, then looked back to him. “Yes?” Zuko asked. “I mean, we’ve seen Smellerbee and Longshot since then and they never said anything so...”

“Yeah, I told them not too. I needed time after I recovered to figure myself out, and wasn’t sure I could handle seeing any old flames- no pun intended- or enemies,” he said, pointedly sliding his eyes from Zuko to Sokka. “But I didn’t think you’d actually think I was dead… I told Katara I’d be fine. That wasn’t a lie.”

Zuko... Zuko didn’t know what to do. He had spent the past five years feeling so guilty for being the reason Jet ended up in Lake Laogai and blaming himself for his death, that seeing him in front of him brought on an overwhelming onslaught of memories and emotions and confusion. But with it was also a huge sense of relief, and he smiled at him softly.

“I’m really happy to see you, Jet,” he said honestly. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Don’t think I’m not still pissed at the fact that you lied to me, or for the pain the Fire Nation has caused me and my friends,” he said evenly, though his mouth ticked up in a smile, the wheat jumping as it did. “But I’m glad to see you too. You look good.”

Zuko rolled his eyes but smiled and leaned into Sokka, who had shifted to stand at his side rather than behind him. Sokka grabbed his hand immediately. “Thanks. There’s a lot that’s happened, recently, and if you were willing to, I’d like to catch up and... Well, I know there’s a lot of history, but maybe we could try to be friends?”

There was a slight twinkle in Jet’s eye as he watched Zuko and Sokka, one that reminded him of sneaking around the ferry and running down the streets of Ba Sing Se, and Zuko knew he’d realized they were together. He didn’t say anything though, just smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that. And you too, Sokka. I think I owe you a few apologies.”

Sokka snorted, though Zuko recognized it as one of begrudging amusement rather than actual anger. “Yeah, whatever man.”

Jet nodded and turned away, apparently satisfied with that, and Zuko tugged on Sokka’s hand to lead him up the stairs.

“So…” Sokka said nonchalantly when they had shut the door to the apartment. “Jet. Your ex. He’s downstairs.”

“Yeah…” he hummed, setting down his bag and turning to grab Sokka’s. “That was not at all what I was expecting, gotta be honest.”

“How do you feel about it?” There was something odd to his tone, something curious but also apprehensive, as if he didn’t really want to know.

He shrugged, stepping into Sokka’s space to pull him into a hug- although Sokka would never say it, he knew his boyfriend. After what happened with the village during the war and then later seeing him die- so they thought- that Jet’s presence had to have shaken him. He wondered if that was why his tone of voice was so odd.

“I don’t know yet. But he seems… He seems alright. Happier than he ever was when we had our thing, at least. And I think maybe… Maybe I’d like to try to be friends with him.”

Sokka hugged him back tightly, nodding thoughtfully. When he spoke, it was careful and deliberate. “If you ever decide you want to date him again, I need you to just tell me, okay?”

He pulled back, staring at him in confusion. “Sokka, what?”

“I mean it! I want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me. So… If you ever decide you’re into him-“

“For spirits sake,” he rolled his eyes lightly, realizing what was up with his tone of voice- he was nervous that now Jet was back, Zuko wouldn’t want to be with him anymore. “Sokka, that’s not going to happen. I love you, and I’m going to keep loving you for the rest of time. I already know that you’re it for me, love. Plus,” he dropped his voice into a conspiratorial whisper, “when I kiss you it doesn’t taste like wheat.”

Sokka laughed, shoulders relaxing. “I love you. And you’re it me, too. I’m sorry for being weird about him, it’s just… I don’t know how to explain it. Seeing him and remembering you had a thing and just... I got jealous, I guess.”

“It’s okay, love, I understand,” he said as he smoothed his palm over Sokka’s cheek, before kissing him softly. “Now, come on. I’m sure Uncle is dying to make us some tea.”

[pinetreeinlatin2]

Zukka: "At The Party"

Modern highschool au

(I can make a part two)

the gaang, Suki, Azula, Zuko, Ty lee, Mai and Yue, all are in the same highschool in Ba Sing Se,

Sokka is a Junior and Katara's a Sophmore,

Aang and Toph are Freshmen,

Zuko is a Senior,

Azula and Ty lee are Sophmores,

Suki is a Junior, Mai and Yue are Seniors

(Kyoshi warriors are cheerleaders (everyone refers to them as Kyoshi warriors)),

Sokka and Katara still live with their father- Hakoda, and with Bato (2 years after Kya's death Hakoda and Bato started dating and now they're engaged),

Zuko lives with his uncle Iroh, who runs a great teashop- the Jasmine dragon, Zuko works there so he can have money for collage,

(Zuko's has a scar because his father- Ozai after years of abusing him throw hot water onto his face, so he ran away to his uncle),

Azula, still lives with her (and Zuko's) father. Ty lee lives with Azula in her house (she sleeps in Zuko's bedroom (she actually sleeps in Azula's bedroom, she only have her stuff in Zuko's bedroom)) since she ran away from home,

Mai's parents are rich, Mai, Azula and Ty lee are the highschool meangirls,

Toph lives with her parents, she argues with them a lot, but she loves them (they're overprotective because she's blind). Toph also is the first person who has ever stood up to the highschool meangirls (she done that defending Sokka because they were making fun of him),

Aang lives with Monk Gyatso since he's parents died, he has a white dog named Appa and a white lemur named Momo,

Yue is a daughter of a very rich businessman, before she went to a private school but she decided she wanted to be like other kids, and now she's in a public highschool of Ba Sing Se,

Suki lives with her mother, she's a leader of cheerleaders in highschool and she do martial arts,

Sokka comes to Jasmine Dragon everyday after school to get some tea and do his homework, sometimes he comes here with Katara, Aang and Toph,

Zuko has a lot of school so he can't work at the Jasmine Dragon everyday, so he don't see Sokka there often (but he has a little crush on this boy becase his smile is so pretty),

one saturday the gaang is at the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko notices them, and he remembers Toph, she's the one who stood up to his sister in school, which means Zuko and whole gaang are probably in the same highschool,

Zuko's too shy to ask them if it's true,

a day after that, at lunch Zuko notices gaang at a table with leader of Kyoshi warriors, she was sitting next to this boy with a beautiful smile, he assumed they're a couple,

Zuko sat with Azula, Ty lee and Mai because he doesn't have any other friends.

Zuko instead of eating lunch stares at Sokka totally zoomed out, Ty lee notices it, it was obvious that Zuko has a crush on Sokka so she starts to make a plan how to help him,

she knows that Sokka's a Kyoshi warrior, so she decides to one too, so she can have some informations about him (Ty lee also tried to make Azula and Mai join the Kyoshi warriors but they didn't want to),

after Ty lee joins the Kyoshi warriors, she becomes friends with Suki, Suki tells Ty lee that Sokka is single, and after talking with Sokka a few times she knows that he's bi,

one day Ty lee mentions to Sokka about Zuko and that he's single, turns out that Sokka has a crush on Zuko too,

now Ty lee needs to figure out how to get these two dummies to start dating. She came up with an idea to make a party in Azula's house (technically it's her house too), she invates Sokka and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors, Mai, Yue, gaang and Zuko (he didn't want to come at first, but after Ty lee told him that his father would be out of town he changed his mind),

at the beginnig of the party everyone was dancing but then someone brought alcohol,

Aang refused to drink alcohol, Katara drank a little but then stopped and strated dancing with Aang (Katara was visibly drunk),

Azula drank A LOT of vodka and started complimenting Ty lee, everyone was suprised (not because Azula liked Ty lee (everyone knew that already) but because Azula was nice),

Toph drank a little but then she stopped because alcohol was messing with her senses,

Yue and Mai get a little to drunk and they end up making out in the bathroom,

Sokka is freaking out in the living room's corner, because he let Katara get drunk, but then he noticed that Zuko isn't here so he started look for him,

after finding Katara and Aang dancing in the kitchen and Mai and Yue making out in the bathroom he finally found Zuko sitting in his old bedroom holding a mask and staring at it,

Sokka sat next to Zuko:

-"Why aren't you at a party?" -Sokka asked

-"It's too loud there" -Zuko answerd

-"What's that?" -Sokka pointed at the mask

-"This? Oh.. It's the Blue Spirit mask" -said Zuko

-"You're Zuko right? I'm Sokka"

-"How do you know my name?"

-"Ty lee told me about you"

-"How do you know Ty lee?"

-"Well.. I'm a Kyoshi warrior. Just like Ty lee"

-"You're a cheerleader? I thought they were only girls"

-"I'm the only male Kyoshi warrior.. Do you know who's room this is?"

-"It's Ty lee's room"

-"Really? It doesn't look like it's her room"

-"Well.. it used to be mine"

-"Your? But you don't live here"

-"I ran away.. Because my father done that to me" -points at his scar- "Now I live with my uncle"

Sokka was muted, he didn't knew how Zuko got that scar, he thought maybe it was an accidient, but it wasn't, Zuko's father done this to him..

-"And this mask.. It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me before she died" -said Zuko

-"I'm really sorry.. I know how it feels.. my mother, she's dead too" -Sokka noticed that Zuko looks really sad- "I know what would make you feel better.. playing 20 questions!"

they started playing 20 questions, and both realized how many things they have in common,

it was Zuko's turn to ask a question, his last one:

-"C-can I kiss you?"

Sokka was visibly shocked, he didn't expect that question,

-" I.. uhh.. y-yes"

so Zuko kisses Sokka, it was a short kiss, but after the kiss they stare each other in the eyes and Sokka just says:

-"Wow"

-"How did your mom died?" -Zuko asked Sokka

-"What? Ohh.."

and Sokka told him the whole story about his mom,

they were talking until 3 am when both fell asleep still sitting on the floor,

in the morning Suki and Ty lee found Sokka sleeping with his head on Zuko's shoulder

You can use it for you're Zukka fic, but if you do please give me some credit I've spent 5 hours writing this, thank you <3

[bubble-tea-bunny]

pretty please

[zuko x reader]

author’s note: wowowow it’s been a minute. until this story, i literally hadn’t written anything since april. i really don’t like to write unless i’m in the correct headspace and it took about 4 months to get back into one ^^’ anyway, i’d been sitting on this idea since july, and i’m glad to have written it. hope you enjoy

word count: 3,341

The doors of the Jasmine Dragon are always open to welcome patrons and a cool breeze. Zuko marks the beginning and end of each day by the size of the crowd—which grows in the early hours and keeps him and Uncle Iroh decently busy until finally it begins to shrink—and by the crisp air which greets him in the morning and again in the evening, both instances when the sun is hidden by the horizon. Heavy rain has been pouring over Ba Sing Se as of late, but today is the first day where the clouds have cleared, and Zuko is once again able to gauge the time by the color of the sky: at opening, a wash of indigo with strips of pale yellow at the horizon like the sands of a faraway land, and at closing, reds and oranges like fire.

Dusk paints the rug in the center of the shop in a warm-toned light, the jasmine dragons embroidered upon it more like crimson dragons now. Zuko gently sets the tray with its empty pot and teacups down on the counter before turning around to wave at the last customers of the evening. They’d lingered to chat with Uncle Iroh, and Zuko had spent the time tidying the rest of the shop, so that once it’s just the two of them left, most of the cleaning is done.

Zuko yawns, feeling the fatigue catching up to him now that the place is silent but for the quiet clinking of ceramic dishes. Uncle Iroh chuckles.

“Tired?” he asks.

Zuko shrugs, a noncommittal answer. “A little, but I think I’d rather eat dinner than go to sleep right now.” As if on cue, his stomach growls. It had been busier than usual today, and as consequence, he’d decided to work through lunch.

“Did someone say ‘dinner’?”

A loud voice carries from all the way across the threshold, prompting Zuko and Uncle Iroh to see who it is. Sokka leans against the doorframe, arms crossed and crooked smile on his face. “Because I could do with some food right about now.”

Upon realizing who is standing there, Zuko smiles widely. “Sokka! You didn’t mention you’d be in Ba Sing Se.”

“To be honest, I didn’t really plan on it, but I was in the area, and you know how the saying goes: spontaneity is the spice of life, and yada yada.” Sokka waves a hand dismissively.

Catching up with a friend he hasn’t seen in a while makes Zuko look forward to dinner even more, but he stops short and glances to his right, where Uncle Iroh is already watching him.

“Go,” he encourages with a nod. “I’ll clean up here.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Zuko gives a respectful bow, and then he’s traipsing across the teashop to join Sokka, and they descend the steps together into a dark and brilliant night.

The first subject of conversation is figuring out where to eat, and after tossing a few suggestions back and forth, they settle on a noodle bar that stays open late. If they get caught up talking for too long, they could remain there a while. The rest of the walk, then, is spent swapping stories of what they’ve been up to since last they saw each other. Zuko listens attentively, smiling absentmindedly, truly interested in the adventures his friend has been on.

It’s when the tables are turned and Sokka asks What about you? that Zuko heaves a sigh, shoulders sagging. He’d been so busy back in the Fire Nation with diplomatic affairs, talking to this person and then that person, visiting other regions and welcoming ambassadors to his own. By now, he handles his position as Fire Lord with grace and respectability, but he’s still human and gets worn out too.

“That’s why I came to Ba Sing Se,” he explains. “To get away from all that and just spend time with Uncle.” And sure, he gets tired after working at the Jasmine Dragon all day, but it’s mostly from being on his feet, going from the back of the shop to the front to serve customers, a route he repeats for hours. It’s a different sort of tired from fulfilling his duties as the Fire Lord, and is entirely worth it to him, to take a moment to be no one but Zuko, a guy who works at a teashop.

Sokka smiles sympathetically. “I’m glad I chose to stop by Ba Sing Se. I was wondering how you’d been doing.”

The stress slowly melts away as Zuko smiles back, his shoulders not feeling nearly as heavy as when he’d first arrived in the city. He misses his friends whenever they’re all apart, and he too has lingering thoughts about their wellbeing always in the back of his mind as he goes about his days, and now that he’s finally reunited with one, he’s beginning to feel more like himself again, pulled back down to the ground.

As they turn the corner, the Firelight Fountain comes into full view, yellow lanterns illuminating the ground and the nearby buildings. Though it’s dark, there are still people here, either passing through on the way to their destinations or choosing to congregate on the benches and the edge of the fountain itself. It’s in the latter location that Zuko spots you.

You’re seated a little farther away from the only other two people who have chosen the fountain as a place to rest, perhaps to afford you some quiet as you read a book. The gurgle of the water behind you serves as a perfect white noise, enough to fill the silence but not to pull your attention away.

“Ah… She’s pretty cute.”

Zuko blinks and glances at Sokka. “What?”

Sokka tilts his head in your direction. “I saw you looking at her.”

“Wha—I was not.” But Zuko’s avoiding eye contact and his cheeks feel warm, embarrassed to have been caught (even if he hadn’t exactly been attempting subtly to begin with).

“Hey, come on, nothing to be shy about!” Sokka playfully nudges him with his elbow, and they slow to a complete stop, finding themselves now under the lights of all the lanterns, stopped just on the inside edge of where the light meets the darkness it couldn’t quite reach. Zuko’s still not looking at him, and Sokka’s grin grows. He is thoroughly amused. “You should go talk to her.”

Zuko shakes his head. “No!” he replies hastily. And then, more slowly, “She looks busy anyway.”

Sokka raises a brow. “I bet she’d make time for you. Any girl would.”

The matter-of-fact way in which Sokka says this is flattering, truly, but it doesn’t convince Zuko that approaching you would be anything but a bad idea. “Forget about it. Let’s just get food.” He tries to continue walking but Sokka is quick to clap him on the shoulder, halting his steps, and he just barely keeps from stumbling backwards from the sudden stop in momentum.

“Oh no you don’t,” Sokka declares. Zuko brushes his hand off with a groan and twists around, a silent plea to let the subject drop inherent in his eyes, but Sokka easily ignores it. “What if she’s your soulmate? You can’t just keep walking!”

“My… soulmate?” Okay, now Sokka is starting to blow this out of proportion. He’d spared a glance your way because you were pretty and that was it. “There’s no such thing—”

“You don’t know that!” Sokka exclaims.

“And you do?” Zuko counters.

Sokka shrugs but it’s not a sign of defeat. “I’m just saying, when the soul knows, it knows. You didn’t pick her out of the crowd for no reason.”

It’s awfully dramatic and Zuko opens his mouth to respond but then closes it, deciding he wouldn’t win this debate. Sokka is persistent when he wants to be, and when it comes to the topic of love, Zuko’s on the losing side every time. He knows, however, that if he were really insistent, Sokka would let it drop and they would resume their walk to the noodle bar, but it wouldn’t be without a warning that Zuko was making a huge mistake and that he’d regret it, going to bed thinking about you and then dreaming about you but he’d never be able to find you again—

Even imaginary Sokka is hard to handle and Zuko takes a deep breath, momentarily diverting his gaze from the real Sokka in front of him over to you, and back again.

“So…” Sokka trails off, watching him expectantly.

“I’d mess it up,” Zuko offers weakly in the way of an excuse.

“You’re the Fire Lord,” Sokka says as if that solves the issue. “You got this!”

“I don’t… really see how that’s supposed to help me…” Zuko tilts his head, confused.

Sokka rolls his eyes. “Just go!” He gives Zuko an encouraging shove.

With a quiet huff, Zuko ambles in the direction of the fountain, where you still sit reading, none the wiser to the fact you were the subject of their conversation. Halfway through the walk, he looks over his shoulder at Sokka, who gestures enthusiastically for him to keep going and to stop looking over here because you’re over there and you’re what’s important.

Is it too late to turn around? Zuko thinks begrudgingly to himself as he sets his sights on you. He ruminates on the question with every step he takes, reasoning that perhaps he could deal with Sokka talking off his ear about how he will regret not doing anything, because surely Sokka couldn’t keep it up for that long, right? (The immediate doubt Zuko feels upon considering this point speaks for the contrary.)

But before he can make up his mind, suddenly he’s in front of you and though he’s said nothing, you sense his presence and your eyes slide up from the pages of your novel to him, the lower half of your face concealed by the hardcover. The few seconds of silence that follow feel instead like a few years, panic filling Zuko as he fails to say anything. Your eyes flicker to the side, which he assumes you do to check if he’d actually meant to approach someone else because, well, why would he be talking to you? You don’t know each other.

“That book seems really interesting,” he says finally, and he wants to crawl into a hole and hide. Five words in and it is already not going well. What kind of opening was that?

You blink and lower the book, using a finger to mark your place before closing it to get a better view of the cover. It’s blank.

“W-Well, I just thought it was really interesting there’s nothing on the cover!” Zuko rushes out. “Since, you know, you usually don’t see that, and… and…” His intention was to segue into asking you what it was about, having decided that to be his way into a longer interaction with you, but the words die in his throat the longer he looks at you now that your face isn’t hidden because you’re a lot prettier up close and he learns tonight that you’re what all those love stories must be talking about when they extol the levels of beauty which render a lovesick heart speechless.

If you’re bothered by the bouts of silence, this most recent one stretching longer than the first, you don’t say anything. In contrast, you continue to sit there, watching him steadily, waiting patiently, and Zuko feels bad that he’s so bad at this. Never has the act of talking come less easily than it does now, in a situation where the stakes are lower than any dialogues he has with diplomats or government officials. It really shouldn’t be this difficult talking to a girl, but maybe he has it backwards and the stakes here are higher, because if he entertains Sokka’s admittedly outrageous claim just a few minutes previous about what you could possibly mean to Zuko, and if in fact the hands which keep the world turning are also those which keep hearts beating with purpose to seek out their companion, then the stakes as he stands here are the highest of all.

He’s still scrambling for what to say next, entirely unsure how to salvage a conversation that hasn’t even taken off yet. Nervously he rubs the back of his neck. Sokka must be observing the whole situation unfolding with equal parts stress and exasperation because even if Zuko isn’t actually flailing his arms, helpless and drowning in an open sea called love, his awkward posture and anxious spluttering are enough of a metaphorical signal. Sokka’s on the shore, too far to come to his rescue right away, but maybe this will go the way of those romantic tales and it will be you who holds a hand out to save him instead.

However, you’re beaten to the punch by those aforementioned invisible hands of destiny as they, quite literally, push Zuko closer to his own. A couple of kids dash past the fountain, laughing loudly as they chase each other in a game, and one of them checks Zuko in the back, which causes him to stumble forward.

He manages to catch himself with a hand braced on the edge of the fountain, and luckily too, because if he hadn’t, he would’ve fallen on you and knocked both of you back into the water. But now the two of you are face-to-face, mere inches away, and your eyes are wide in surprise and he is mortified. This entire conversation (if one could call it that) he had been plagued with the urge to apologize for being so skittish and acting so strange and the urge multiplies now because he could’ve accidentally kissed you and he’s honestly not sure what would be worse—that, or the two of you tumbling into the fountain.

This close up, the top half of your face takes up most of his field of vision, but in his peripherals he notices the curl of your mouth, and his gaze briefly drops down to it, to the smile which has found its way there.

“Looks like you just fell for me,” you remark teasingly, the quip slipping from your lips so easily and in this moment he can think only of two things: one, that your voice is incredibly soft, like the first warm light of morning settling on his skin, and two, that you have no idea how right you are.

Zuko’s wrist begins to feel slightly sore from bearing the brunt of his weight and that’s when he realizes he’s stayed that way for too long, and he clears his throat and stands back up straight. “S-Sorry…” he says quietly. For being skittish and acting strange and, now, for almost falling on you.

Your smile widens and it reaches your eyes and in their depths are the reflection of the lanterns surrounding you both and Zuko can’t help but liken them to stars strung across the sky. “It’s okay.”

The tension has slowly ebbed away, your almost-collision the perfect ice breaker. It had been a shocking one, certainly, but that was what Zuko needed. Anything more subtle and he probably wouldn’t have felt relaxed enough to think clearly. From the few words you’ve said, he knows you’re far from bothered by him approaching you, and he’s able to calm down a little bit.

“So as I was saying, that book of yours…” Internally he cringes. Why did he have to go back to the book? This was the perfect chance to steer the topic elsewhere! What was he supposed to follow up to that?

“It is interesting,” you comment. Zuko’s cheeks heat up. You’d noticed his struggle. But he is grateful nonetheless that you’re helping carry the conversation along. The fact you’re seemingly in no rush to end it must be a good sign.

“I could explain it to you, the plot, since there’s no summary or even title on it or anything, so…” You trail off and he wonders if he’s imagining the nervousness suddenly inherent in your amiable grin, as you go quiet and look up at him and—oh. Oh.

This is the opening he’d been looking for, the one he’d been unable to find himself because he is completely helpless in scenarios like these. If the universe and its mysterious machinations had been the hand to keep him from drowning, you’re on the lifeboat checking to make sure he’s okay, the sun behind your head a halo and maybe heaven feels like a warm day and smells like salt in the ocean. And maybe it looks like you.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Zuko states. “Maybe over some tea?”

“I’d like that.”

Then, before he has the chance to change his mind, “Are you free right now?”

The question stops you short, and he’d completely understand if you said no. This is incredibly short notice, and there was no issue with making plans for another day. But you have no qualms about the sudden invitation, for you place your bookmark to save the page then stand, clutching your book close to your chest. “I am.”

Zuko grins lopsidedly. “Great.”

He guides you in the direction of the Jasmine Dragon, and as you begin to walk, while your focus is on the path in front of you, he glances quickly over at Sokka. He wouldn’t have made the split second decision to ask you out right now if he didn’t think Sokka would be fine with it. But he knows his friend well and Sokka is, indeed, perfectly okay with the unexpected turn in the evening. From across the way, by the lanterns farthest from you two, he is smiling proudly and giving a thumbs up. They would have time to catch up tomorrow (and Zuko is sure Sokka will want him to recount everything about his time with you).

At the teashop, he tells you to pick any table you’d like while he goes to prepare a pot of tea. You both lose track of time as you talk, for the conversation opens up to other avenues aside from your novel, and Zuko notes that the tea he’s drinking has never tasted so good. It reminds him of something he heard a while ago, hazy in his mind currently, and he wracks his brain trying to recall it. What was it that Uncle said?

The best thing to have with tea is a good friend. Yes, that sounds correct. Zuko can envision him as he says that, a teacup clutched in his hands and wise grin on his face, and at the thought, Zuko hides his smile behind his own as he takes another sip. But the move doesn’t escape you, and you catch the small smile. It makes you halt in the middle of your sentence to address it.

“What?” you ask, amused and curious.

Zuko shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

Your eyes are sparkling and he knows that you know he’s lying, but for his sake you drop the subject, instead returning to your original topic. And he continues to listen and hang on all your words and he is the luckiest man in the world because he’s sharing tea with someone who is beginning to feel like so much more.

He’s left wondering if this is the feeling of finding the one, the right one, the one for him. He doesn’t want to give this to Sokka, to admit that okay, perhaps there had been substance to what Sokka had claimed and maybe the idea of soulmates is real, and not just written about in stories for the lovestruck and the romantic. But then you dazzle him with a large smile in response to something he says, and he doesn’t dwell on the question for long as he comes to the conclusion that honestly, the answer doesn’t really matter to him.

[kigozula]

As Long As We’re Together - Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day 7: Part Two

FF.net & AO3

Sequel of my last week's entry. Part One.

Sokka insisted on eating some food. He took them to a restaurant. Despite herself, Azula accepted Sokka's treat. She was hungry. They sat outside and kept staring at each other questioningly after ordering their food.

"Well, are you going to explain what's going on?" Sokka finally asked.

"Are you going to explain what's going on with you?" Azula asked back.

"I asked first. Besides, why would the Fire Nation Princess cry alone on creepy streets in a completely different nation form Hers, wearing an apron?"

Azula actually smiled a little at that. He was right. Her situation was in fact weirder. Sokka couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I escaped. Zuko arranged a marriage for me behind my back." she told him blatantly.

"He what?! Is he out of his mind?" Sokka said leaning slightly over the table, clearly taken aback.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Azula said.

"How did you learn of this?"

"I heard Uncle Iroh telling him, it was about time Zuko finally told me that he planned to marry me off. Before he could do that I ran away. We have been on good terms with my brother since the war ended, but his bond with our uncle is worrisome in my eyes." Azula explained. She looked down sadly.

Sokka felt a surge of anger. Zuko had his flaws, but he has been motivated to be a good brother Azula. He asked Sokka for advice on that once. How did it come to that? It was clearly Iroh’s doing but Zuko still shouldn’t accept that. Azula was right, Iroh was too much influence on Zuko.

But saying this wouldn’t help the situation. Sokka needed to reassure her that he would stand by her side. Surely helping someone you know was natural. But he felt his protectiveness more than just that. He wouldn't allow Azula to feel alone. She didn't have an easy life either.

He slid his hand toward hers on the table and took her fingers gently in his palm. It was Azula's turn to be taken aback now.

"I will do anything in my power to help you and protect you Azula. I'm with you, as long as you allow me to. You can trust me."

His eyes were blazing with honesty.

Before she could say anything, the waiter brought their food, and the pleasant touch of their fingers ended.

"Your turn now." Azula said when they started eating.

"Why would a warrior like you, who is best friend with the Avatar walk on creepy streets with an apron on himself?" Her voice slightly teasing.

Sokka huffed.

"I lost a bet."

Azula broke into laughter. Sokka would have gotten mad if it hadn’t been the first time he saw her laugh. Her laughter made him blush instead of angry.

"How did that happen?" she asked forcing her laughter to stop.

"We made a bet with my sister. I might have gone a little overboard and told her she would never be able to beat me at a "boomerang race". She said if I lost, I'd work in this teashop for a week. "

Azula broke into a stronger laughter this time.

"I tripped and fell down Azula! Otherwise, there is no way she could have beaten me!" Sokka squeaked.

Still, she couldn't stop laughing. Sokka looked rather cute while he explained his story.

"Glad I could improve your mood princess."

"I'm sorry Sokka, I just can't..." she tried to say in between laughter.

Sokka joined her laughter soon enough.

They ate, laughed, and talked leisurely. It felt genuinely nice to be in each other's company.

Working in the teashop didn't feel horrible anymore. They joked around. From the outside it looked like they were glad to be in this situation. After their shift ended they would hang out in a restaurant and go for a walk.

Until their good mood shifted, when certain people entered the teashop right before it was closing time. It was the third day for Azula in Ba Sing Se.

Zuko arrived with Katara, Aang and Toph next to him. He left his soldiers outside the teashop.

Her brother looked worried, she had to give him that.

“Azula, what is that? I barely slept for days in worry something might have happened!” he said roughly.

Azula gave her brother a harsh glare, but before she could say anything Sokka gave her a short reassuring look and rushed toward Zuko. Anger pouring off him.

"Are you out of your mind? How can you do something like this to your sister Zuko?!" Sokka yelled.

"Calm down Sokka." Zuko replied furrowing his eyebrows.

"You can't force her to do anything you hear me?" Sokka told him.

Zuko found his explosion a little too much but responded anyway. He tried to at least. Because Katara burst into laughter.

All eyes turned to her.

"Hey Sokka, can you give us some tea." she said.

"Oh, nice apron Sokka." Aang began laughing too.

"I am sure Azula's apron looks much better." Toph teased now. She knew the Princess was working here too.

Sokka just growled.

Zuko's eyes landed on his sister.

"Azula, I was never going to force you to anything. You are my sister, and I really wish you trust me." Zuko actually looked sad.

"I heard Iroh talking to you about how you should tell me that you plan a marriage for me." Azula said.

"Did you hear the rest of it?" Zuko asked. He looked at Sokka and then at Azula again. An interesting situation was happening.

"I told uncle that I never planned such a thing. Then he asked me if he could make you a suggestion. But before that I wanted to talk to you of course."

"Isn't this just perfect?" Toph said smirking.

"What?" Azula and Sokka asked in unison.

Katara started laughing again.

"What's so funny now huh?" Sokka asked annoyed.

"The person Uncle Iroh suggested you marry Azula..." Zuko started.

He paused, closing his eyes. Maybe this whole thing was a sign.

"Uncle believes you guys would match very good together." Zuko said.

Time seemed to stand still. Azula looked at her brother, then at Sokka who looked just as stunned as her. Katara and Toph smirked and Aang winked at her, looking happy.

"My brother and you." Katara interrupted.

Azula and Sokka were standing side by side, but their heads turned to the side so they could see each other's eyes.

"Well, I spied on you guys and sensed your feelings for one another flourishing." Toph whispered to herself. For she could feel how happy they were in each other's company.

[avatarnao]

Selkie!Sokka AU

Okay so this is a legit AU idea I’ve been floating and really want to write at some point. 

Basically Zuko and Iroh live in some coastal town running the local cafe/teashop. There’s a large population of seals that live there and often just chill on the beach all day, especially in the early mornings/late evenings when less people are around. 

Zuko’s walking along the beach one day and stumbles across an injured seal. He retrieves his uncle and the two of them take the seal home to help it until it gets better. 

Sokka and his family are selkies. He’s get injured doing... something and is picked up on the beach by some weird human. He kinda panics? And just goes with it because he’s too afraid to out himself/reveal the existence of selkies. So now he’s stuck in some person’s home until he recovers.

Sokka absolutely falls in love with this kind, gentle human. He is eventually returned to the beach. 

Zuko’s working at the shop one day when some strange person shows up (it’s a small coastal town so they don’t get tourist/strangers visiting often). 

Shenanigans ensue. Zuko can’t figure out why this random person seems to know so much about him or where Sokka disappears to every day (he goes back home). 

Eventually Katara shows up convince Zuko’s going to steal Sokka’s pelt and he’ll be stuck on land/with humans for the rest of his life. 

Aang in there too as some sort of... like... mediator between humans and fae??? idk. 

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

teashop zukka au??????????

Okay you might have meant a modern AU but I wanna do a Li and the Gaang meet up at the teashop sorta thing so... trust me, I'll make a modern AU one, but tonight I'm makin something self indulgent

👁👄👁 here we go

"Hi, thank you for dining with us, how can I- oh..." when Zuko looked up from his notepad he saw the group he'd previously been chasing sitting at the table "well, uh, nice to see you here... uh, names Li by the way, what can I get you to drink?"

Katara glared at him "Zu-!"

"Nope, Li."

"Alright.. fine.. Li, what are you doing here?"

"Im working, Ive been in the city for about a month now since we're on the run from the firenation" Zuko shrugged "Its been different thats for sure, uhm, I freed your bison by the way, but thats not important right now, what would you like to drink today?"

Sokka looked at Aang and then at Katara who looked at Toph then at Zuko "uh, I'll have a Chai please.. and... what would you recommend with that?"

"Oh! Uh, I'd definitely suggest the PolarBerry tarts with that one, its served with a chocolate drizzle so its a nice compliment" he then turned to Toph who didn't look at him

"Ginger tea, with a bowl of rice please" she paused "oh and tell your uncle to add more honey than last time"

"Will do- wait last time?" Zuko gave a confused look

"Yeah, I can tell its him back in the kitchen, we talked a while ago and he made me tea, just tell him its for the blind girl he helped while talking about you and he'll know its me"

Zuko cleared his throat and blushed "right, okay" he then turned to Aang who gave a cheeky grin "and you?"

"Jasmine please, and nothing else"

"Right, and you?" Zuko turned to Sokka and froze for a second at the look he was getting. Blue eyes trailing from his feet all the way back to his eyes with a smirk.

"I'll have a nice hot cup of Li tea, with a steaming side of Zuko fruit tarts"

Zuko sputtered and broke the small pencil he had in his hand in half. "I'm sorry what?"

"You heard me"

"Sokka oh my gods you can't just say that!" Katara scolded while Aang and Toph snickered to eachother

"And why not? I can flirt with the enemy if you can" Sokka said with a huff and then rolled his eyss "at least my choice is actually hot"

Katara made an insulted gasp "excuse me! Jet was in fact very hot... at the time"

"Wait... you dated Jet too?" Zuko asked with a still very flustered expression

"Yeah- wait what?"

"Okay, look, I get off in like three hours, can we meet up and talk then? I have other customers to get to"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, you have alot of explaining to do mister!"

"Oh, I'm sure I do, I'll get your order in. It should be done soon"

After putting in the order, with an improvised order for Sokka since he didnt give an actual order he went to check on the other tables one of which having Jin and Jet sitting at "youll never guess who's here"

"Who? The avatar?" Jet said sarcastically

"Yes actually..." he paused "meet me outside the shop after my shift. The both of you"

And so they did, the Gaang met up with Zuko Jet and Jin three hours later. Of course Zuko and Jin defending Jet from Katara with him explaining what he's been doing in the city. Which was at this point living with Zuko and Iroh which he lovingly referred to as Li and Mushi regardless of him knowing their actual names or not. Y'know a boy has your back when he keeps up with code names all the time.

By the time the night was over Zuko joined the Gaang, and Sokka of course made sure he knew the flirting was in fact not a joke by dragging him out to the porch when the moon was high in the sky.

"What did you drag me out here for?" Zuko huffed

"Look up there, what do you see?"

Confused Zuko looked up to the full moon in the sky "The moon?"

"Exactly, isn't she gorgeous?"

"She?" Zuko asked while leaning on the porch railing with his elbows watching cautiously as Sokka did the same.

"Yeah... she" Sokka sighed "that night at the northpole, I was supposed to protect princess Yue, but since she had been saved by the moon spirit as a baby, when the moon spirit died she gave the life back." He turned to Zuko "she became the moon spirit Zuko, I felt her die in my arms and then watched her become the moon"

"Oh" Zuko whispered and turned to look back at the moon "I didnt know she was the one to save the spirit, Im sorry"

"But you wanna know something about her being the moon now?" Sokka watched with careful blue eyes as Zuko gazed up at the moon

"What?" Amber eyes met blue one as Zuko turned back.

"Sometimes when I need to get things off my chest, I talk to her at night, I dont know if she can hear me or not but I know she's there." Sokka gave a small smile.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and sometimes, when I want to make sure I've made the right decision, I'll go to her for figurative advice. And she's siding with me this time" Sokka moved his hand to Zuko's and took hold of it

"What is she.. siding with you-!" Zuko didnt manage to finish the sentence when Sokka crashed their lips together. It took a second for him to register what happened before he melted into the kiss only to have it taken from him when Sokka pulled back, snickering when Zuko followed his movements in hopes to continue the short lived connection. Seeing the grin on Sokka's face Zuko flushed "Oh..." Was all he managed to whisper out before they were interrupted by an irritated Katara clearing her throat from the doorway.

[nekomasteam]

i see 'the gaang as roomies' and raise you 'the freedom fighters as the neighbours across the hall'

anon this is the funniest thing oh my god

they move in before zuko moves in with the gaang. after first the gaang did not chat with their neighbors, but one day katara and jet both get locked out and no one is home, so they go to hang out.

sokka is not happy. he does not like jet. aang likes jet, but he's also jealous, since he likes katara.

 katara and jet have a thing, so she spends a good amount of time at jet’s place. its smaller than the gaang’s. smellerbee and the duke share a room, since smellerbee is in charge of him most days, as the only high schooler she takes him to and from school. their place is a lot more bare than the gaang’s since they just moved in. Longshot and Jet share a room, and it is covered wall to wall with bows and arrows and giant hook swords, since both of them work at a weapons store and teach in self-defense classes for kids and teenagers.

the biggest issue is that jet loves to blare music at any given hour, it drives sokka crazy, since he's trying to study. aang is always the one to ask him to turn it down because he's the nicest about it.

katara and jet do not last. and it does not end well. aang and suki had to physically restrain sokka from going to fight jet. suki eventually cornered jet and told him off, no one saw him for a few days after that and they do not know why.

cue zuko.

when zuko moves in, he had just broken up with mai. he was obviously upset about it, and didn't really talk with the gaang when he first arrived because of it.

cue jet.

jet takes this opportunity to know about the pretty boy who lives across from him, since he frequents the tea shop he works at. smellerbee thinks this is a terrible idea, going for someone who lives in the same apartment as his ex and that ex’s brother, who is willing to fight jet at any given moment. 

zuko is deeply annoyed by his neighbor. the boy will not back down. 

eventually zuko starts to find it endearing that someone is so interested in him.

shit. zuko likes jet. they go on a date one night.

by this point zuko had started hanging out with toph and the rest of the gaang a little bit. katara is not happy. everyone in the building can hear katara yell at zuko over jet. 

smellerbee and toph become best friends while zuko is with jet. its beautiful. they cause so much chaos together. the duke loves his two older sisters very much. 

toph and longshot also get along surprisingly well. they always know what the other is going to do, everyone is mildly terrified.

zuko and jet also do not last.

suki and aang could not hold sokka back this time. jet has a black eye for two weeks. everytime katara is with zuko and sees jet, she gives him the middle finger, zuko just ignores him. 

eventually mai comes back, and her and zuko get back together. mai scares the shit out of jet. he avoids her at all costs. 

smellerbee, longshot and the duke thinks its hilarious. they love mai. when longshot and jet are at college, smellerbee and the duke will hang out with zuko at the teashop. uncle iroh absolutely loves them. 

anyways the freedom fighters (minus jet) are bffs with the gaang.

[army-of-mai-lovers]

Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

oh my gosh I have so many I’m literally incapable of sticking to one or two projects at once this list is going to be so long ahhh ok

keep the world at bay- Avatar Sokka au/nonbender Zuko au/Yue lives au/Jet lives au/Azula redemption au....she has layers (unsurprisingly, she’s projected to be 200k). basically, Aang didn’t go into the iceberg and grew up during the beginning of the Hundred Year War and spent most of his life trying to end it, but then he disappeared and there was a 40 year gap between his disappearance and the surfacing of the Water Tribe Avatar, Sokka. this fic frustrates me to no end sometimes but I really really love it. I am a bit of a nerd about writing, but there are some things that I’m really nerdy about within writing and alternate history stories is one of those things. I have a google doc with pages and pages and pages of text about what happened in between the first Sozin’s Comet and the start of the fic, and how this all ties in thematically, and this is all like, exactly the kind of stuff I live for. it’s self-indulgent as hell but I love it. I just posted earlier this week that the hiatus on the new chapter for this fic was going to be even longer and now I’m working on chapter 14 so...yeah I change my mind on a whim what about it? 

not ready to make nice- Jet lives au, one of my only fics in which Jet is not affiliated with a coffee/teashop in some way. basically, he wakes up in an apartment of Ba Sing Se after the events of Crossroads of Destiny, severely injured but alive, and finds out that Smellerbee and Longshot have been taken. even though there are three jail/prison break scenes in 9 chapters, it’s a very slow, very intense character study kind of fic exploring Jet’s many many traumas and how he learns to love himself enough to survive and thrive. fun fact: this fic was part of my six month plan to slowly convert people into jetru shippers, and right after I started it everybody started shippng jetru and the whole plan became moot (this is also why Haru doesn’t get introduced until ch 7) 

like ripples, like love- wuko enemies to lovers coffeeshop au, featuring background korrasami, bopal, jetru, and zukka. also probably the weirdest experience I’ve ever had being inspired for a fic--I made a couple jokes about how the perfect wuko fic would be a 200k enemies to lovers coffeeshop au in which Mako is the employee and Wu is a Karen, and then some of my mutuals were like “yo I’d read that fic” and I was like “lmao ok I’m not doing it” and three months later I have a 75k wuko enemies to lovers coffeeshop au, so...joke’s on me I guess. I really love the opportunity to be funny in a fic, honestly. my canonverse stuff is kinda depressing, and considering both the world and the atla fandom are dumpster fires, it’s really nice to just make something fun and lighthearted. this fic is also set in Hong Kong, which initially was me trying to be more responsible as a member of a fandom for a show based on Asian and Indigenous cultures, but it has grown into me just being interested in Hong Kong culture. I’ve done a lot of research for this fic and I’ve enjoyed all of it. I never would have listened to Chet Lam or Leslie Cheung or AGA if it weren’t for this fic, and I never would have read about Jessica Park and the Transgender Equality and Acceptance Movement. All of this has really enriched my understanding of queer culture and queer organizing outside of the US and it makes me really happy that I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn about all of this stuff. just posted ch 2, will probably post ch 3 soon!

it’s only a paper moon- yueki fic in which Suki talks to Yue (the moon) while she’s at Boiling Rock, and falls in love with her through these conversations. this is one of the first straight up angst things I’m writing (read: angst w/o a happy ending) and as someone who adores yueki being able to write about them in a variety of situations is really fun. also, it’s Suki pov and ngl Suki pov is my favorite pov to write. I love her so much and I love deconstructing her and making her vulnerable (instead of the invincible queen that everybody stans but nobody takes the time to treat like a human being) 

on my honor- probably the only straight up zukka fic I will ever write. It’s a donnaverse fic, set a few months after the events of bad girls and love will always find you, and Sokka and Zuko compete to be the biggest fans/supporters of their friends and sisters by having a Kyoshi merch arms race. I love donnaverse everything so I’m really excited about this, plus this fic has a lot of Sokka & Aang and Sokka & Haru and Sokka & Jet (and it features Jet and Haru’s first meeting). also, Zuko the Douchebag! so few zukka fics feature Zuko the Douchebag and I miss him I want him back. the whole point of Zuko is the character development so if I’m writing a zukka fic it’s got to have Zuko developing and becoming a better human. 

and finally....

Super Secret Zone Collaboration fic- [REDACTED]

fanfic meta ask game!