New Student (Zukka fic)

Part Two

The wooden door swung open to reveal a young man standing casually by the door. He had deep chocolate colored skin, exactly the same color as his hair, which was pulled into a messy ponytail. He had bright cerulean eyes, about the same shade of blue that his varsity jacket, jeans, and high tops were colored. There was a mischievous quality to his face that Zuko couldn't exactly describe.

"Hey, Sokka! The room looks great!" Suki exclaimed, setting the box the on the floor to give him a big hug.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet. It's like a deluxe apartment! I just got off video call with Katara and she said the poster should go over there, but I really think it would better over..." Their voices started to fade as they crossed into the main area, leaving Zuko to carry the boxes by himself. He peered around the corner and saw that the bedroom on the right had already been filled up with azure suitcases, so he began to walk over to the left.

The left bedroom was identical to the one on the right, with a white queen bed, a wooden desk, and a couple of dressers. He slowly began to take out his belongings, which consisted mostly of clothes, textbooks, and sentimental knick-knacks. Zuko slowly picked up the portrait of his uncle that he'd brought, and broke into a soft smile.

"I hope you're right about this, Uncle," he sighed, placing it on his dresser.  Zuko reached to get his red quilt of the box, and was immediately struck by a flash of pain.

"Aaarrgh." He grimaced, pausing to examine his hands. He discovered a large slice on his palm, blood slowly trickling out of it. He looked back at the box, and saw the porcelain tea set his uncle had packed for him in shatters. Great. Uncle always said it didn't matter whether tea is served in a porcelain bowl or a tin cup, as long as it fills you with warmth. Zuko, however, preferred a porcelain bowl. He was going to have to buy a new one.

First things first though, he had to clean up his hand. Clutching his palm in one hand, he made his way over to his door, only to be greeted by Sokka slamming it open.

"Hey dude, so I never really caught your na-oooh, did you have, like, jam or something, or is that..." Sokka exclaimed, then trailed off when he noticed the red susbstance dripping onto the floor.

"It's blood," he nodded bluntly.

"...Right then. There's some, uh, bandages in the kitchen. Help yourself," he replied, looking uncomfortable.

Suki emerged into the room, and then noticed his sliced hand. "Oooh...Sokka, he might need some help with that, as one of his hands is immobile."

He sighed. "Alright, come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

....................................................................................

This guy was weird.

It was like he was obeying an unspoken rule that said he could only respond with one or two word answers.

"What's your name?"

"Zuko."

"Cool! Where are you from?"

"Palace City."

"Oooh! I've heard that place is super fancy. What's it like?"

"Good."

Yeah...not exactly a talkative type. Sokka tried to get him to talk about his hobbies, his interests, what he was majoring in, but it was like he completely shut himself down, so Sokka instead focused on bandaging his hand.

"Aaagh...this cut is pretty deep, how did you even get this?"

"My tea set broke, and I cut myself on one of the shards," Zuko replied flatly, stringing together more words than Sokka thought he was capable of.

He couldn't help but snicker. "You brought a tea set?" 

Suki hit him upside the head, irritated. "Don't be a Neanderthal, Sokka. I wish I had my own tea set."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. The point is, the cut's deep, but it won't leave a scar, so that's good."

"Yeah...that is good." Zuko flexed his newly bandaged hand, a stiff expression on his face.

"Speaking of scars...how did you get that awesome one on your face?" Sokka exclaimed, pointing to the burned flesh surrounding his left eye.

Zuko immediately stiffened, a look of utter disdain sweeping his features. Sokka almost jumped back. What was up with him? Couldn't he ask a question?

"Sokka, maybe he doesn't want to talk about it. How would you feel if he asked you about the scar on your thumb? You know, the one you got from sticking two fish ho-"

"Ssssshhhh! We don't talk about that!"  he panicked, putting a hand over her mouth.

When she finally pushed away his hand, she smiled sweetly at Zuko. "Sorry about him, he doesn't exactly have a filter."

"How would you know?" Sokka snapped.

"I've known you since high school, that's how! You remember sophmore year, when I utterly destroyed you in volleyball?" Suki smirked.

"You did not destroy me. You challenged me unprovoked."

"Um, excuse me, you were being a sexist jerk!"

"Well, actually-"

Zuko stood up suddenly, interrupting their argument. "I...I need to go to the bathroom." He quickly excused himself, marching down into his bedroom.

"What's up with him?" Sokka asked in confusion.

"I don't know, maybe it's because you keep asking rude questions and have no sense of boundaries?" Suki replied snarkily.

"What?! That's not true at all!" he protested.

Suki sighed. "Look, I don't have time to deal with this right now. I still have to unpack my own stuff. Just...try to be nice to him? Can you do that for me?"

Sokka paused. "I promise."

Suki grinned. "Awesome. Call me if you need anything, I'll be right down the hall. See you tomorrow at orientation!"

"See ya!" he hollered back, Suki shutting the door as the words left his mouth. Sokka sighed in resignation. 

"Alright, let's see if I can try to have fun with this guy."

.