A little rainbow [ZUKKA]

chap.1

Suki had just left. the scar on Sokka's heart was vibrant. the couple had decided to cut things off earlier in the morning. they said it would be easier for both of them if they didn't have anything going on. "it would've been distracting." Suki said. Sokka agreed, even tho he did not think the same. he couldn't argue with Suki. or at least he didn't have the force to. they had hugged before she left and he would forever hold onto it. the boat she was in now looked like a little dot far away, his mind wandered. "what if i don't make it without her?," "what if she doesn't come back ever again?," he didn't like thinking about it, yet there he was.

he felt a light tap on his left shoulder.
"are you okay?," Aang asked gently.
"yeah i'm fine," he sighed, the truth is he could've been better.
"it's getting pretty late, we should head back home.", Aang continued. as much as he wanted to be there for his friend, he knew they couldn't stay there forever.

Sokka agreed and they walked back to their house. a nice place where they each had their rooms, even if Aang and Katara often slept in the same bed. thanks to Toph's money and Zuko and Aang's status. arrived back at their place, Katara was cooking diner meanwhile Zuko and Toph were talking in the living room.
"hey hun," Katara said to Aang, abandoning her cooking pots only for a second, "how did it go?"
"it went alright. she left safely." he replied, there wasn't anything more to say, except maybe for the fact that Sokka talked about Suki all the way back home. Aang tried to reassure him, with no success.

Sokka sat down with Toph and Zuko who had stopped their conversation about god knows what. Katara and Aang went to the kitchen to finish preparing diner.
lost in his own thoughts, Sokka was barely listening to what Toph and Zuko had to say. he was thinking about how much he was missing Suki's blue eyes, the ones he loved to get lost into. her laugh, one of the most beautiful sound he'd ever hear.
"hellooo earth to Sokka." Toph shouted, "are you even listening?"
"um yea i totally was um... you guys were talking about..." Sokka was looking around trying to find something that they could've been talking about, "Momo! you guys were talking about Momo."
"nice try buddy but no." Zuko said, jokingly.

Katara called for diner. they all went to the table and started to eat their meal. except for Sokka, who was playing around with his food.
"Sokka could you please stop playing with your food and eat it?," Katara said, a bit annoyed.
Sokka sighed and tried to dig into his plate. but he didn't feel like eating. his whole stomach felt like it had been turned upside down and his throat had been shut.

Zuko eyed him from the other side of the table. he didn't like seeing his friend in that mood. he couldn't explain why, but it hurt Zuko when Sokka was hurting. he usually wasn't like that. he tried to push the thought away. it's Sokka. he's strong. he's independent. he doesn't need you to feel better.
diner was over and Aang and Katara decided to play a board game.
"I'm pretty tired. i'm going to bed." Sokka said leaving the living room where everyone was sitting ready to play, except for Toph who was simply "looking" at the game.
Zuko watched the brown haired boy leave the room and venture into the hallway leading to the rooms. "should i check on him?" he wondered, "no no that would be weird.", but he wanted to. "what are the others gonna say? i can't just leave the game like that.", "it's whatever Zuko, he's probably just tired you'll check on him later." later. he'll go check on Sokka after the game. only one round and he'd go see him. Zuko didn't understand why he wanted to see him so bad. he's just a friend after all. or was he really? Zuko didn't like to think about it. liking boys what an idea! you couldn't even like boys if you were a boy here. so he pushed the thought out of his mind and waited until the game was over. in between Katara's complaints and Toph's remarks, Zuko couldn't help himself but to think about Sokka.

he was in his room, facing the ceiling. he had been trying to fall asleep for a while now -10 minutes- but it wouldn't come. it was usually relatively easy for Sokka to fall asleep. especially when Suki was there. her scent was comforting. her hair was soft. and boy he loved when she played in his hair. but now, it was all gone. she was back on her island, being a warrior like she used to be before she got sent to the boiling rock where he and Zuko rescued her. after defeating Ozai, the gaang decided to move to Bah Sing Se for awhile. Zuko not wanting to be in the palace for now, Toph not wanting to go back to her parents house, Aang had nowhere to go so he would stay with his friends, and Katara and Sokka simply didn't want to go back home for now. they had visited once or twice to say hi to Gran Gran and their dad but quickly got back to the city. it had now been almost year since they moved in and life was pretty great. Katara had a job in a local beauty store, she didn't want to spend all her day laying around. her and Aang and started dating not long after the final fight and they were going pretty well. Toph did what she wanted, like usual. she often went out later during the day and came back at night. no one knew what she was doing or where she was going but when they asked her about it, she wouldn't mind ignoring the question or spitting a snarky remark. Aang and Zuko were working on their important people things. they had envisioned to create a city about a week ago. they still couldn't find a name for it but it was a thought. Sokka didn't have much going on. he hung out with Suki all day long, going to Iroh's tea shop or just wandering the streets holding hands. now that he was left alone he didn't know what he would do of his days.
his thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door.

"not now Katara i don't want a motivational speech or whatever." he said facing his wall.
"um, it's me Zuko." Zuko said in a timid voice.
"oh hey Zuko, come in."

Zuko entered the room, closing the door behind him and he sat on the bed right besides Sokka.

"i'm sorry for kind of snapping on you i thought it was Katara and i'm not really in the mood for a feel good speech.", Sokka explained.
"it's alright i just wanted to check up on you... i- i know break ups can be though," Zuko said, trying to comfort him the way he could. Zuko wasn't always good with words unlike Aang or Katara, or even Toph when she wanted to. he was kind of awkward, but his intentions were in the right place.
"i know," Sokka said, "i remember when you and Mai broke up."
he sat up.
"i just. i didn't think she would ever leave. i know it's not her fault but i had hoped she'd stay forever." he said, trying to keep his tears inside.
Zuko had noticed the trembling in Sokka's voice.
"you know you don't have to keep it inside. you can trust me." he said, he didn't quite know what else there was to say.
"i- i know. but i can't cry about it forever. she just went back home, it's not like she was gone forever. god i'm such a crybaby." Sokka was pretty much talking to himself at this point.
"b-but i gotta say strong. i- i can't break like this for no reason," tears started to fill his eyes. he couldn't contain them anymore.
"Sokka calm down you're not a crybaby." Zuko tried to calm him down. he put his hand on Sokka's shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him.
Sokka calmed down. tears were flowing down his face and he was breathing loudly.
"ca- can i have a hug please?" Sokka asked, sobbing.
"of course." Zuko dived into Sokka and it felt good.

Sokka hugged him back, breathing in Zuko's hear. his breath was more regular than it was one minute ago. the hug lasted like what felt like forever, until Sokka pulled back gently. he felt better. in fact, they both felt better. they needed that proximity, that human touch. Zuko smiled and got up, ready to leave the room. when Sokka grabbed his wrist.