Is it just a coincidence? (Sokka x Zuko) [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eight

    Checking his phone every few minutes for any missed calls from Iroh, Zuko leaned against the armrest on the sofa, desperately trying to keep himself from looking at the other boy. He had a lurking feeling that if he looked at him again, he wouldn't be able to stop.

    "So, like... Do you have a girlfriend?" Sokka asked.

    "No." The answer shot out of his mouth immediately.

    "Me either. But I guess you kind of already knew that." Sokka shrugged, referencing the events that occurred in the nurse's office.

    "I haven't found mine either..." Zuko muttered, fiddling with his fingers.

    Sokka raised his eyebrows but he didn't reply. Turning his gaze back to the screen, the show he'd put on was only white noise now. Are you looking? He wanted to ask. But there wasn't really any point in that. Wasn't everyone? He looked down, not really focusing on anything in particular. Was he? He'd been looking for so long and he'd fallen for two people who he thought might be the one. But... Neither were.

    It felt like years were passing while they sat there in silence. Despite the distraction on the TV, both of them felt awkward at the lack of conversation. 

    "Oh," Zuko said just as Sokka was about to say something. "My Uncle..."

    He got off the couch and walked out of the room, shooting Sokka an awkward smile before disappearing behind a wall.

    "Hi, Uncle," He said lowly. "I'm just at... a friend's."

    Sokka smiled to himself. It was nice to have friends. Something nagged at him when Zuko called him that, but he'd leave that to ponder about later.

    "Yes... Yes I have friends," An exasperated sigh left Zuko's lips. "I um... got hit in the face with a ball," He quickly stammered out another sentence before Iroh could completely freak out. "It was an accident though! The guy did...n't mean it."

    Though it didn't seem like Iroh had caught onto Zuko's hesitation, Sokka did. He wasn't going to ask Zuko directly, but he'd definitely keep his eye on him at school. Something wasn't right.

    Eventually Zuko walked back into the room and returned to charging his phone. Giving Sokka's impeding gaze a reassuring smile, he sat down. 

    "He freaked out..." Zuko noted, his eyes on his hands again.

    Sokka laughed lightly. Zuko found himself chuckling a little too. Why was his laugh so contagious? Immediately his emotions were lifted.

    "You know," Sokka paused the TV. "Neither of us got enough sleep last night. How do you feel about naps?"

_

    "I'll wake you up when it's dinner time." Sokka nodded, lying beside Zuko.

    "You can set an alarm..." Zuko mumbled, not wanting to say exactly what he meant. You can sleep too.

    "Oh, yeah!" He grinned, grabbing his phone.

    Switching on an alarm, he moved under the blanket beside Zuko. His eager expression dropped at the sight of Zuko's. In a way, he seemed almost mortified. His face was obviously red (except where the scar was).

    "Oh, sorry, did you want me to not be under the covers?" Sokka asked quickly.

    "No... no... I'm sorry, it's your bed... I just..." Zuko bit the edge of his lip in thought. There really was no excuse was there? 

    Sokka stared at him expectantly. 

"It's nothing." 

_

     Despite the irregular pace his heart was beating at, Sokka fell asleep pretty quickly. Zuko took a little bit longer, taking the time to look over Sokka's chest. A small part of his brain was cursing at him for ogling, but it was easily blocked out by all the flustered thoughts that plagued his mind. Eventually the soft scent of Sokka and his own drowsiness brought him sleep and he moved a little closer.

    When he woke up, Zuko was on Sokka's chest where he was being cuddled. Nothing had ever been more comfortable to him. Astounded, he lay back down on Sokka, hearing the soft beat of his heart against his ear. A tiny smile edged his lips before he drifted back into a light sleep. He'd been aching to be cuddled for so long...

    The alarm rang softly from the nightstand. Sokka woke up first, reaching over with his loose arm and turning the alarm off. He wrapped his arm around Zuko who was still sleeping. He was warm, and soft. Brushing a lock of hair out of Zuko's face, he admired how peaceful he looked. A tiny smile on his face.

    In that moment, it seemed to vaguely piece together; the nurse's weird look, the nosebleed, the utter comfort he felt when he was even thinking about Zuko. Despite being wrong more than once before, he couldn't help but swell with hope. This had to be the real thing, right? Zuko was his soulmate, right?

_

    Unsure of how to bring the topic up again, Sokka didn't end up saying anything for the rest of Zuko's stay. They made conversation, sure, but nothing even came close to nearing the topic Sokka so desperately wanted to discuss.

    "Sokka?" Katara was standing in his doorframe. 

    He'd just been priding himself over the fact that he'd made Zuko laugh again. He hadn't even remembered that he shared the house with three other people. Katara glanced at Zuko and a look of confusion flashed across her face. Looking back to Sokka, her expression softened.

    "What do you want for dinner?" She asked.

    "Uh... I'm not sure," He turned to Zuko. "What do you feel like?"

    "Oh, I'm cool with anything." He quickly retaliated, not wanting to keep any attention for too long.

    "That's helpful." Katara huffed sarcastically before leaving.

    Sokka shot Zuko a sheepish grin at his sister's attitude.

    "Is she... okay?" 

    "Oh, she must've had a bad day or something. Nothing against you. She's normally really nice." Sokka reassured.

    With a soft nod, Zuko returned to staring at his fingers.

    "So... um..." He started but was interrupted.

    "Sokka!!!!" Toph swung into the room. "Where the fuck were you?!"

    "Toph!" He uttered, glancing at Zuko before turning his attention to Toph. "I had a nosebleed and my buddy Lee over here got hit in the face with a baseball so I just skipped out on the second half of the day."

    "Well you left me all alone with Sugar queen and twinkle toes. They're so boring..." She groaned, flopping down on the other side of him. 

    "Sorry." Sokka chuckled.

    "Who's Lee?" She said after a pause.

    "Lee's this guy right here," Sokka chuckled, patting Zuko's shoulder. "We're biology partners and we're friends."

    "Nice to meet you." Zuko nodded, holding out his hand.

    "Oh, um," Sokka leaned in to whisper in his ear. "She can't see."

    "Oh!" Zuko quickly pulled his hand back.

    "Likewise," Toph smirked. "So where do you live?"

    "Fl- Terra city..." 

    Sokka quirked an eyebrow at the stammer but again, didn't question it.

    "No kidding! That's where I used to live too!" 

    "Oh? Why'd you move?" Zuko inched closer.

    "My parents kinda suck..." Toph shrugged.

    "I feel that..." Zuko mumbled.

    This conversation was making even more questions pop up in Sokka's mind. He knew he probably shouldn't ask about it. Zuko would have to tell him on his own. And to get him to be comfortable enough to do that, he had to get closer to him.