AtLA Modern: Year 2, Gen. 1

Chapter Nine

A month flew by as the college students began being overwhelmed with homework. For Zuko and Athlea it was easier because they were living together, but Dai and Sokka had to push swords practice to the weekends, though they still saw one another. Seina and Xilah were still having an occasional fight, but nothing out of the ordinary for them.

As per usual, Ozai was hosting a fall event, taking place at Magnolia Flowers, the same place Zuko and Athlea had gone to on their engagement day.

Sokka had volunteered to pick up Dai. He was going on 20 minutes of waiting, scrolling on his phone, occasionally groaning or whining. Finally, the door opened. Sokka's eyes lit up as she emerged, pulling a heel on more securely and growling. Sokka chuckled to himself as he observed her. She straightened and flipped her hair, looking forward, blinking as she saw Sokka. "Sokka!" she greeted him, jogging lightly to his car. A smile brightened his face and he looked her up and down. Dai jerked open the door and threw herself in side, slamming it behind her, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "I didn't know you were here," she informed him quietly, her ice-blue eyes shining.

Sokka shook his head quickly and cleared his throat. "Hi, yeah, um, I wanted to surprise you," he said with a big grin.

"I am surprised," Dai admitted, smiling herself.

"And oh, my gods, you look beautiful!" Sokka added excitedly.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She scrunched her face up playfully, winking and adjusting the cuff of his sleeve.

Sokka chuckled as his gaze followed her movements. Once she was done with his sleeve, he returned his hand to the steering wheel. "What can I say? I try my best," he responded, smirking and beginning to pull out of the parking lot. "I think we might be stuck in traffic for a bit. Zuko warned me with a text a few minutes ago," he informed her calmly, his eyes on the road as he drove. Sure enough, traffic was piling up several blocks in front of them.

Dai shrugged. "i don't mind."

"I'm starting to get used to these events taking place," Sokka admitted, one hand extending to turn on the radio.

Dai leaned back, putting her feet up on the dash. "I've always been used to them."

Sokka glanced over and his eyes widened. "Dai!" he yelped, leaning over to pull her feet down. "No feet on the dash! If we crash, your legs are gone. Anyways, I can't see my mirror when you do that. I need to see my mirror."

Dai furrowed her brows and glared at him dramatically, pulling her legs sharply off the dash, letting her heels hit the floor with a little click. "I can make ice legs!" she protested.

"Ice legs?!" he repeated, his voice high-pitched, terror and confusion in his eyes; perhaps an overreaction. "No! I-I want your normal legs, Dai!" he whined, one hand reaching over to give her thigh a gentle squeeze.

Dai snorted, giggling at his reaction. "They could be cool," she argued with a little snicker. She sighed and moved her hand over his. "Fine, I'll keep my legs. But if you weren't such a crazy driver it wouldn't be a problem in the first place." She shrugged a shoulder. "Anyways, the events. We would go with to my father's when we were really young, because my mother wasn't around to take care of us... You know, dying will do that to you." She snorted.

Sokka blinked a few times and gave her an awkward look, then turned back to the road, lips pressed together. "Looks like we're stuck," he announced. A long line of traffic extended in front of them.

She glanced up at the traffic, then shrugged, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't mind the traffic," she added softly, giving his neck a gentle kiss.

"We, we shouldn't be late, so I kind of mind. Gosh..." The line began to slowly move and he yelped, returning both hands to the steering wheel and creeping forward.

Dai shrugged. "It's not like anyone is expecting us."

After a good ten minutes in traffic, they slowly were able to resume a normal speed, and from there it was a quick ride to the party. "Finally! That was insane!" Sokka said with a satisfied sigh. He neatly parked between the lines of a parking space. "We're here," he announced, sounding happier.

Dai glanced around before tilted her head and glancing back at Sokka. "Very observant," she teased. She bunched her skirt up in a hand, pushing the door open and stepping out.

"Why, of course I am. Observant enough to see that I need to upgrade my cat." Sokka was glancing around at the cars surrounding them, a displeased look on his face. He blinked, turning to watch Dai for a moment, then straightened his tie and got out. He walked around the car to her, grabbing her hand and placing it on his arm. "I'm a gentleman. And a true gentleman leads his lady," he announced, grinning.

Dai's cheeks gained a bit of color. "You car is fine." She watched him adoringly for a second, then shook her hand and looked forward, both of her hands clasped around his arm.

"Let's see if we can find the others inside," he suggested as they began walking. He glanced around and noticed the paparazzi gathered outside and a groan escaped his lips. "Oh, great, that'll be fun. As long as they don't capture my wrong angle like they did last time. Boy, was that embarrassing!"

Dai giggled, glancing up at him. "The professional photographers caught your wrong angle, or are you just self-conscious?" she teased.

"I am not self-conscious. They got my wrong angle! And you saw that—everyone saw that!" he protested, pure annoyance clean in his voice as he shook his head and faced forward. He turned to offer the paparazzi a smile for a brief moment. "Not exaggerating and definitely self-conscious. I look good, we know that. But that picture was a nightmare."

The girl on his arm snorted and shook her head, giggling a bit. "Right, babe." Dai glanced out at the photographers and smiled for a moment, nodding a couple of times before they headed inside. Once they were in the restaurant, she turned more fully toward Sokka, leaning up onto her toes to kiss his cheek, moving her hands to his shoulder. She glanced out at the tables. "We have to find our table," she said softly. "There's Zuko and Thea." She nodded at the couple at the other entrance.

Sokka was gazing around, whistling softly. "This looks even fancier than the others we've attended." He turned his attention to her with a smile, his hands moving to her waist. "We should greet Ozai, no?" He followed her gaze to Athlea and Zuko for a moment. "Let's go after those two, actually!" With a smirk, he took her hand and dragged her toward Ozai.