Not Equal To

Chapter Two: The Vast Unknown

"And then-" Aang's voice rang out in the 2-bedroom apartment filling it with laughter and warmth, "and then, and I swear this on all my past lives, Toph bit the guy!" Everyone cracked up at this. Katara's head went back and her hand landed on Aang's forearm causing him to smile even more. Sokka was laughing with his whole body; pure, unadulterated joy. Fuck. His laugh. Zuko was laughing himself, but he was also taking in everything that was happening with his friends around him. His friends...and Sokka.

"She bit him?" Sokka asked between heavy breaths. "Like..." He grabbed Katara's left arm and bit it.

"Hey!" Katara exclaimed and punched him in the shoulder. Aang and Zuko both lost it, the laughter turning into painful stabs in Zuko's sides and back. Sokka turned away from Katara, looking him dead in the eyes. His expression was serious now, but the kind of serious that says I really like you. Shit. That sobered him up quick.

There was a silent conversation between them, their eyes locked. Sokka gestured to the door with his head; Zuko felt himself nod before he thought to do it. Aang and Katara were still laughing, but all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat and the usual bombardment of thoughts in his head was silent as he stared into the vast ocean that was Sokka's eyes.

He felt like he was gone from his body, floating in the vast sea staring back at him, while simultaneously being more in his body than he'd ever felt. He watched as Sokka stood up, grabbing Zuko's right hand, gently pulling him to standing. Sokka turned around and started walking towards the door, Zuko trailing behind him like an expectant puppy. "We're going for a walk," Sokka said back to Aang and Katara's general direction.

"Okay, be careful!" Katara called after them.

"Use protection!" Sokka quipped and Zuko turned around to see Katara turn red, but not nearly as red as Aang was. His whole head turned a bright red and he sunk down into his chair a little bit. Then they were out the door.

≠

"I can't believe you said that." They had walked 3 blocks before Zuko finally spoke. "You should've seen the look on poor Aang's face!" He laughed a deep laugh that made Sokka feel a bit warmer.

"What can I say, I love to tease the kid." Sokka turned to face Zuko, stopping in front of a McDonald's. "Plus, he's dating my little sister. The more uncomfortable I can make him about that, the better." I'd rather not think about her having any sort of relations, but she's an adult, so I'll torture the kid a little. He thought to himself, smirking. Zuko just looked at him quizzically. How can someone look so damn cute? "Come on, I'm starving!" He dragged Zuko into the McDonald's by the hand.

The fluorescent lights were harsh, making Sokka squint. "What do you want? I'm buying." He turned to look at the man attached to his hand, but when Zuko met his eyes they both paused for a moment. Zuko's mouth was hanging open ever so slightly. Sokka had to take a deep breath before he gave Zuko an expectant look.

Zuko just blinked and said, "Huh?" A strand of long, dark hair had fallen out of his topknot and into his face.

Sokka giggled, reaching to tuck the hair behind Zuko's ear and repeated what he had said. He saw blush form on Zuko's cheeks. They ended up ordering 20 nuggets, two big mac combos with pop, and a cheeseburger happy meal for the toy. They chose to take it to go, and they headed down to the waterfront.

Once they got there Zuko let go of Sokka's hand and ran to find his favourite spot near the big oak tree. He sat down on the edge of the dock, legs dangling over the edge just barely missing the inky water below. Zuko turned to him and smiled, eagerly patting the dock on his right side. I fucking love this guy... I wish I could tell him. He smiled and sat down beside Zuko, thighs touching as their legs dangled. Zuko scootched over so their hips and shoulders touched as they stared over the lake.