zukka, bitches! (oneshots)

flowers

tumblr prompt: "sometimes i steal flowers from your garden on my way to the cemetery, but today you've caught me and have demanded to come with me to make sure the 'girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft' and i'm trying to figure out how to break it to you that we're on our way to a graveyard" au

a modern au in which zuko steals flowers from sokka's garden to put on his mother's grave, and gets caught. 

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it was tuesday. zuko always visited the cemetery on tuesdays. well, visited his mother's grave. 

his route there wasn't very long, he didn't live very far from it. he was always alone when he went, his uncle out working and his sister, azula, busy with college classes. 

he looked up at the sky, wishing there were at least a few clouds. today's sunny weather felt entirely  inappropriate for what he was doing. 

curse the sun. 

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it was tuesday. that cute boy always walked by on tuesdays. walked by and stole the flowers sokka had worked so hard to grow. 

the first few times, sokka let it slide. the guy was cute, and it probably was for his girlfriend. he figured the guy would ask one of those times. 

he didn't.

by now, sokka knew he couldn't allow this to go any further. he had to see for himself. just how pretty was this guy's girlfriend, that he was willing to steal sokka's prized yellow daffodils?

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again, it was tuesday. zuko was approaching the small blue and white house, with its white picket fence and gorgeous flowers. he slowed down and stopped in front of the house, taking his clippers out from his back pocket. he looked around, satisfied once he saw didn't see anybody, and leaned over the fence. he clipped once, twice, three times, and stood back up. 

the flowers were a gorgeous and vibrant yellow. his mother's favorite flower, and his favorite color. he was so focused on the flowers, that he almost didn't hear a shout of 'hey!' coming from the house. 

shit. 

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sokka walked out of his house, up to the boy with black hair, red scar, and yellow daffodils -- his  daffodils -- and stood in front of him on the other side of the fence. 

"i, uh, sorry.." the boy stammered, sounding sheepish, "i won't take your flowers anymore.. i'll, um, pay you back if you want--" 

"dude, i gotta see," sokka interrupted, the boy stopping his rambles and immediately looking confused. 

"see.. what?"

"not what, man, who!" sokka said, coming around to the other side of the fence. "i gotta see if this girl you're stealing my flowers for is pretty enough to allow daffodil theft!"

"oh.." the boy gulped, "alright.." he continued walking without waiting for sokka, pocketing his clippers. sokka jogged up to him until they were walking side by side. 

"so," sokka said, "what's your name?" 

"um.. zuko," the boy replied quietly, seemingly not one for conversation. 

"well, it's nice that i can put a name to such a pretty face," sokka grinned, silently fawning over zuko's now pink and flustered expression, "i'm sokka!"

"..hi, sokka."

"so.." sokka began again, "what's her name?"

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"so.. what's her name?"

shit. again. 

"her name is ursa," zuko replied, rubbing the back of his neck. technically this was the truth, because he was just telling sokka who the flowers were for. sokka just didn't know that they weren't for someone alive. 

but how to break it to him?

sokka stopped beside zuko, shaking the older boy from his thoughts. "so you're meeting your girlfriend in the cemetery?"

shit. double shit. 

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"i mean, not that i judge or anything!" sokka said quickly, "it's quiet, i guess. usually not a lot of people are here, so it must be nice to be alone."

"..yeah," zuko replied, a soft smile on his face. 

"so he can smile!" sokka joked, "jeez, man, i've never seen you smile before. she really must be something."

"yeah," zuko said again, this time waiting for sokka before walking through the gate. 

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shit. triple shit. 

they were almost to his mother's grave, and zuko still didn't know how to tell sokka. sokka didn't exactly seem like the guy that would judge him for this, but it sure as hell would be awkward. 

and zuko didn't want to be any more awkward around such a cute, friendly guy. 

screw it, he might as well just get it over with.

"sokka, i gotta be honest with you.." 

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sokka looked up at zuko, concerned. he had just met this guy, but he was already so worried for him. he looked so anxious, as if he needed to get something off his chest. 

"oh god, it's not a girl, isn't it?" sokka asked. before zuko could say anything in response, he continued, "is it a boy? are these for your boyfriend? or datemate? dude, i'm sorry if i made you uncomfortable with my assumptions. me, of all people.."

"sokka, no, it's not for a girl," zuko said before sokka could continue, "or a boy. or anyone i'm dating, which i'm not doing currently." he paused his short ramble for a while, and took a deep breath.

"they're for my mother's grave."

how could sokka be so stupid? 

"..ah."

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"i should've told you from the start," zuko apologized, "i'm sorry. it's just.. daffodils were her favorite and yours were so gorgeous, picture perfect.. she always wanted to have a garden like yours to grow her own.." 

they arrived at the grave, and zuko knelt down beside it, placing the flowers down. sokka stood back a bit, wanting to give zuko some privacy. "hi, mom," he said softly, looking at the gravestone, "i hope you're doing well. everyone at home is doing well, too, and azula is almost done with her semester.." 

he sighed quietly, pausing. "i miss you.. we all do. uncle is always putting on a brave face, as usual, but azula and i know it's taking a toll on him, caring for us both on his own.." 

after a while, and another short silence, he stood back up. "goodbye, mom. i love you."

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sokka looked back up at zuko as he approached, smiling gently. "hey." zuko smiled back. 

"hey."

"your mother.. she must've been a wonderful woman," sokka said respectfully, receiving a soft thank you from the other boy. "she must've been.. to raise such a wonderful son." 

zuko chuckled, blushing again, "well, if you think so."

"well, if you think my front garden is good," sokka grinned, "you should see my back one. c'mon!" he grabbed zuko's hand, much to the other boy's alarm, and they ran together down the street, back to the small blue and white house with the picket fence. 

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it was tuesday. it was on tuesday that zuko would visit his mother's grave. but from then on, he always had sokka with him. and daffodils grown just for him. 

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cheesy as fuck. cheesy as ALL FUCK.