I finished this chapter back in February, posted it on AO3, and...forgot to update it here. Whoops.

I mean. I don't even know how many people read this fic on here anymore, but, uh, gotta stay consistent as much as I can. XD

Many thanks to my awesome friend Lexi for betaing this chapter for me.

Enjoy!

"You what?!" Toph all but screeched from her end of the line.

Sokka pulled his phone away from his head, his ear ringing. Placing it near his undamaged ear on the other side, he muttered, "I said, we kissed…"

There was a low whistle from the percussionist. A welcome change from the screech a second ago. "I really didn't think you had it in you, Snoozles," she said. Sokka should have felt offended by that remark, but he'd grown to appreciate Toph's unique brand of brutal honesty over the years. She didn't say it to make him feel bad or anything. Besides, she wasn't entirely wrong in her assessment either.

"Well," Sokka said, scratching the back of his head. "He kissed me first."

"Daaaaaaamn," Toph replied. Sokka could just imagine the look on her face. "Guess he's just as smitten with you as you are with him."

"Guess so…" Sokka trailed off, unable to stop a bashful grin from overtaking his features.

"So are you guys like...a thing now?"

The trumpet player made an unsure noise in the back of his throat. "I don't know? I mean, I didn't ask him to go steady or anything."

"Too busy making out to talk?" Toph almost stated more than asked.

"Oh, shut up!" Sokka whined, exasperated. Toph sniggered on the other end.

"In any case, I'm happy for you, Snoozles. Glad tonight went well for ya," Toph said sincerely.

Rubbing the back of his head, Sokka allowed that bashful smile to return. This time, it was accompanied by a light blush across his cheeks. "Thanks."

"Guess next time I see him, I'll have to have The Talk with him," Toph said casually. "Y'know, threaten to break my drum over his head if he hurts you and all that."

Sokka laughed. "Well. You can tell him at the BSSU competition next weekend."

Next weekend rolled around a lot faster than anticipated, and soon enough Sokka found himself stepping off the bus in the parking lot of Ba Sing Se University's stadium. Most of the usual bands were there, milling about with their instruments and other various equipment getting ready for their respective shows. There was one particular band missing, though.

"Is your boyfriend here yet?" Toph asked from behind Sokka, staring sightlessly in his general direction.

"His band isn't competing today," Sokka said as he adjusted his grip on his trumpet case. "But he should be on his way, if he's not here already." He'd left his phone on the bus with the rest of his belongings, but the last text from Zuko did, in fact, state that he was on his way and should be there in time for WTH's show.

A sly grin slithered onto Toph's face. Never a good thing. "Oooooh. Is he coming to see you perform?" she asked, very clear intonations in her voice.

"M-maybe…" Sokka said, and damn it, he was blushing again.

"Good. Can't wait to threaten bodily harm on him," Toph replied, sounding way too excited as the prospect of violence.

"Oh, shut up and go practice!" Sokka cried out, giving his best friend a well-deserved noogie before breaking off to find his other trumpet players. He heard Toph yelling something about revenge as he gathered his section together for some last-minute rehearsing.

They practiced for an entire hour, uninterrupted, and by the end of it, Sokka was feeling pretty good about their section. He'd be hard pressed to find any mistakes in their playing, unless something catastrophic happened during the show. But he had a feeling today's performance was gonna be great.

As they were making their way back to join up with the rest of the band, one of the younger trumpet players-a sophomore, he was sure-fell into step with Sokka.

"What's up, The Duke?" the tanned teen asked the underclassman, making sure to not forget the 'the' at the beginning of his name.

"Oh, nothin' really," The Duke said, fiddling with his trumpet. "I just noticed that you're in a good mood today, and it's making me feel better about the show."

A giant grin found itself on Sokka's face. "I'm so glad! We've been practicing so much...I know we've got this in the bag."

"Yeah! We'll show all those other bands who's boss!" said The Duke, a look of utmost determination brightening his young face.

With that kind of support from a member of his section, Sokka couldn't have felt more confident. Even when they grouped back up with the band and had to listen to Hahn's overly dickish speech about how no one better mess anything up, he still felt like he could take on the world.

Plus, someone important to him was watching. That made him want to do even better, just to show that he was really worth something.

"Water Tribe Warrior Marching Band, you may enter the field of competition."

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Sokka stared straight ahead past the mouthpiece of his trumpet, marching onto the field with fire under his feet. His limbs tingled as he stood in his starting spot for first production, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears. He could barely hear the announcer introduce his band to the audience; he was too focused on scanning the crowd for his boyfriend.

Not that he'd really be able to see him anyway. His starting spot was near the back of the field.

Hahn stood on the drum major podium and, after bowing to the audience, started his visual count-off for the band. Sokka inhaled a deep breath and raised his mouthpiece to his lips.

The show started off loud and dramatic, a few measures going by before the field exploded into movement. Playing his trumpet with everything he had, Sokka covered a huge amount of ground in just a few lunging steps as his section formed a twisting angular shape in their corner of the field before shifting across the turf in criss-crossed lines with the other brass sections. The two and a half minutes went by in a flash of constant marching, leaving him more winded than usual because of the ferocity with which he played today.

All motion came to a stop as the stadium erupted into cheers. A few seconds went by as the band collectively gathered their breaths, waiting for Hahn to count off the start to second production, the ballad of the show. Sokka's section, as well as most of the band, held their positions for a good portion of the piece.

This was always the part of the show when the color guard really got to show off their skills with beautiful dancing and elegant flag work. Katara was at the front of the field, near the pit, doing her saber solo. She flipped the sword into the air with such grace, landing a six-rotation toss with practiced ease. Sokka allowed himself a small smile for his sister, his trumpet currently held at rest until the time came when he had to play again.

Second production transitioned right into third, and Sokka had to book it fifteen yards in a mad dash as the tempo picked up what felt like exponentially. Practically running from drill spot to drill spot, he held his trumpet steady towards the press box and kept his breathing even while he played. By the time the show came to its final crescendo, Sokka could feel himself going slightly lightheaded.

Applause erupted after the last collective note was played, and Sokka stood at attention with his chest heaving. Beads of sweat rolled down the sides of his face and his neck, soaking into the collar of his jacket. The tingling in his limbs from the beginning of the show hadn't gone away, but rather intensified tenfold.

But it was worth it. It was all worth it, if Zuko could see him performing his ultimate best. And despite his desperate need for oxygen and a shower to wash off all the band stink, Sokka felt like this was his best show yet.

"That was AWESOME!" Katara said with a joyous laugh, hanging off her brother with the arm not carrying her color guard equipment. Aang flanked her other side, doing his best to not be smacked in the face with a flagpole. But the grin he wore matched Katara's. "There's no way we didn't make finals with that performance."

"I'm just impressed none of you hit anyone with your rifles," Sokka said, unable to go a day without getting a little teasing in for his sister. But he was still proud of her nonetheless.

"Watch it, mister, I can still hit you now," Katara threatened, swinging the top of her flagpole around towards her brother and almost hitting her boyfriend in the process. Aang, with his graceful movements and excellent reflexes, managed to dodge the blow effortlessly. However, the bald teen still let out an airy laugh at the siblings' antics.

They made their way back to the buses, with Katara splitting off from them to store her equipment in one of the trailers that usually accompanied their caravan of vehicles to competitions. Sokka, Toph, and Aang boarded their bus to change into some more casual clothing. In Sokka's case, he kept his band T-shirt and pants on but changed out of his dinkles into a pair of blue sneakers and zipped up his faux fur-lined white and grey hoodie. It wasn't particularly cold out, but if they did stay late enough to make it to finals, it was bound to be chilly and windy once darkness set in.

"Snoozles, hand me my coat?" Toph asked as she slipped on her worn green hi-tops.

With a nod he only belatedly realized Toph couldn't see, Sokka removed her black leather coat from the metal rack above their heads and handed it to her. She muttered a small, "thanks," and slipped her arms through the slightly-too-long sleeves.

"Ready to go?" Sokka asked Aang, who was standing in the bus aisle donning a baggy sweater and a terra-cotta colored beanie.

The flute player shook his head and offered a slightly sheepish smile. "I'm gonna wait for Katara."

"We'll save you seats," Toph offered with a wave of her hand. "Just don't spend all afternoon making out, alright?"

Aang went beet red and Sokka couldn't help but laugh as he and Toph left the bus and headed back to the stadium proper.

"Man, I'm hungry," Sokka complained.

"I know; I can hear your stomach grumbling through your clothes," Toph said with a snicker, punching her best friend in the arm.

Sokka yelped at the contact, rubbing the now sore spot on his forearm. Yeah, that was definitely gonna bruise.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Toph asked, changing the subject.

He could feel his cheeks immediately redden at the mention of Zuko. Boyfriend. He was still kinda getting used to the word. "Actually…" he trailed off, pulling his phone out of his hoodie pocket. "Let me text him now and ask him."

They made it to the admission gates as Sokka was typing out his text. He disinterestedly showed the attendant the stamp on his hand that allowed the band kids back into the stadium to spectate the rest of the shows. Before he could lower his hand, however, another larger, warmer hand grasped it and held on tight.

Surprised, Sokka looked up right into a pair of flaxen eyes that seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun.

"There you are!" he said to Zuko, unable to keep a smile from lighting up his entire face. "I was just texting you, actually…"

Zuko cracked a small smile of his own. "I came to look for you after your show," he admitted, shyly glancing down at the ground. He still held onto Sokka's hand.

Whatever blush dusted Sokka's cheeks before grew ten times hotter and redder. Zuko looked positively ravishing in his burgundy sweatpants, black zip-up hoodie, and dark grey tank that showed off his pale, defined collarbones.

A small, "ahem," from next to him drew Sokka out of his momentary reverie. Ah, shit, he'd almost forgotten Toph was right there with them, oh Spirits.

"A-ah...sorry...Toph, this is Zuko, my….boyfriend?" The trumpet player squeaked worse than a clarinet hitting a flat note.

Toph gave a nod in Zuko's general direction, crossing her arms like a badass. "'Sup," she greeted, ever the cool cucumber.

Zuko finally let go of Sokka's hand, giving a miniscule wave in greeting. "Uh. Hello."

"As you can guess, I'm the best friend who's actually much cooler than this nerd right here," she said. She jerked her head towards Sokka, her black bangs swishing in front of her pale eyes. "I would give you the shovel talk, but I'm pretty sure you know what I'm gonna say, so I won't waste my breath."

A nervous laugh bubbled out of Sokka's throat as he scratched the back of his buzzed head.

Zuko paled briefly, but gathered his wits quick enough. "I'd probably sooner dig my own grave. I'm pretty good at that," he said with a slightly embarrassed shrug.

Toph barked out a laugh and nudged Sokka none-too-gently in the ribs, causing him to hunch over slightly. "I like him already. Good job, Snoozles."

Sokka let out another nervous laugh, slightly winded from the blow to his ribs. And besides that, he almost felt like he hadn't gotten his breath back yet from the show. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want you to beat him up as much as you do me."

There was a span of about two seconds that Sokka caught a genuine soft smile on Zuko's face, but it was quickly replaced with his neutral expression that looked a bit like a resting bitch face.

That was what had made Zuko look so intimidating at first, when Sokka had seen him at the beginning of the season.

"A-anyway," Sokka stuttered, "we were just on our way to find some seats. My sister and her boyfriend will be joining up with us a little later." At that moment, Sokka's stomach decided to give an embarrassingly loud snarl. He wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Oh, jeez. Feed that monster before it starts to devour you from the inside," Toph said, already turning towards the bleachers. "I'll go snag us a bench."

Zuko let out a chuckle as Toph disappeared into a cluster of band kids from various schools in the area. "I take it we're on snack duty."

"At this point, I don't think just snacks could satiate me," Sokka admitted as they headed in the direction of the concessions booth. "I could probably eat an entire sky bison and still be hungry."

"From the sounds of your stomach, I think a sky bison might already be in there," Zuko said with as straight of a face as he could muster. The mask of indifference cracked only seconds later, though, and both teens dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Still laughing, Sokka took a chance and grabbed at Zuko's hand as ninja-like as he could and laced their fingers together. A flush bloomed high on his cheekbones as Zuko gave Sokka's hand a light squeeze in response. "Thanks for coming today. I'm...really glad to see you."

Zuko angled his head down in slight bashfulness, his shaggy bangs shielding his bright golden eyes. "It was nothing. I...I wanted to come." He gave Sokka's hand another squeeze. "Besides, it was nice to actually sit down and watch your band just as a spectator and not have to worry about getting ready for my own show, y'know?"

They got in the concessions line, and Sokka leaned in close enough to Zuko that their shoulders were touching. "I get it. Sometimes it's refreshing to go enjoy watching bands just for the sake of watching."

Zuko nodded. "It helps to remind me how much I love band, despite how frustrating things can be sometimes..."

Sokka wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so he just opted for squeezing Zuko's hand again in silent support. They took a couple steps forward as the line moved.

"So, Toph plays bass?"

A fond smile crept over Sokka's mouth. "Yeah. She insisted on choosing fifth bass, because she's the smallest on the entire drumline. She thought it'd be funny, in an ironic sort of way."

"Well, she hit the nail right on the head with that one," Zuko said with a quiet snicker. "She seems fun."

"She is," the trumpet player agreed, "even if she's a bit snarky and abrasive sometimes."

Zuko raised his good brow. "A bit?"

"Okay, maybe a lot snarky and abrasive," Sokka admitted. "But she's my best friend and I love her anyway."

"I want you to meet my best friend sometime," Zuko said almost wistfully. "She's a little overprotective and sarcastic, but she cares. Sometimes too much." He shook his head, still wearing a fond smile. "But she's my best friend and I love her anyway," he echoed, looking directly at Sokka.

At that, Sokka smiled and locked gazes with Zuko. "I'd like that."

Before he could think otherwise, Sokka leaned up on the balls of his feet and gave Zuko a quick peck on the lips.

"Next in line, please!" the cashier called to them, signalling impatiently with a wave of her hand.

Both red in the face, Sokka and Zuko stepped to the register and put in their snack order.

"'Bout time you two lovebirds showed up," Toph greeted as, snacks and drinks in hand, they found the bench where she was seated about halfway down from the press box. Sokka sat next to Toph, Zuko next to Sokka. "Y'all better not have been sucking face the entire time like Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes are probably still doing."

Zuko shot Sokka a confused look, and the tanned teen laughed.

"Toph's nicknames for my sister and her boyfriend," he said by way of explanation, though it didn't explain that much.

"Like she calls you Snoozles?" Zuko asked.

"I have nicknames for anyone who matters," Toph interjected, stealing the carton of chili cheese fries from Sokka and trying her best to keep them out of reach of his flailing arms. She pressed her palm flat against his forehead to hold him back.

Zuko, amused but wholly unperturbed by the scene in front of him, then asked, "Do you have a nickname for me yet?"

Toph hummed in thought as she brought the carton to her mouth and chomped at some of the fries hanging off the side. Talking with her mouth full, she said, "You know, I don't think I do." She chewed and swallowed quite loudly. "But give it some time, and I'll come up with something, drummer boy."

Sokka sighed in defeat, clearly not getting his fries back, and instead opened a pack of chocolate caramel turtleducks he'd also purchased. "Just don't make his nickname too embarrassing," he quietly pleaded as he popped one of the sweets into his mouth. He then offered the open bag to Zuko, who took a piece with a thankful smile and threw it into the air before catching it in his mouth.

"Nice one," Sokka said, taking another chocolate out of the bag and attempting the same trick. He wasn't as successful, though, and the candy hit him square in the forehead before bouncing onto the ground. Sokka stared down forlornly at the lost treat.

"Five second rule?" Toph said with a cheek full of fries.

"Not when it's on the ground," Sokka complained. "The kitchen floor, maybe, but only if it's clean."

Without preamble, Zuko leaned down and picked up the fallen chocolate. He tossed it up in the air and, once again, caught it perfectly in his mouth.

Sokka stared wide-eyed at his boyfriend–Spirits, the word still made him feel giddy every time he thought about it. But the giddiness was soon overridden by mild disgust. "Ugh, Zuko! That's gross! See if I kiss you again tonight."

Zuko just shrugged and popped the cap to his water bottle, taking a long gulp to wash it down. "Now you can kiss me," he said in what he must have hoped was a nonchalant manner, but the dusting of pink on his pale face gave it away.

Acting as though he was seriously considering otherwise, Sokka rubbed his chin in thought. He then shrugged and leaned over, giving Zuko his second chaste kiss of the evening.

"Gross," Toph said with her chili-stained tongue hanging out. "Get a room."

The younger percussionist laughed when both boys went beet red. "Your pulses just skyrocketed," she commented dryly.

"Sh-shut up!" Sokka spluttered.

Zuko, wide-eyed, looked to Sokka for answers. "How...how does she know that?"

The trumpet player leaned in close, holding his hand up to his mouth as if whispering top-secret information to Zuko. "Her other senses are heightened because she's blind, but like. Way more so than other people. She's essentially superhuman."

"Huh," Zuko said, genuinely surprised and...maybe a little impressed?

"You flatter me," Toph said with false modesty, fanning herself in an overly dramatic fashion. She picked up the second to last fry from the carton and tossed it in the air. "Here, Snoozles, catch!"

Sokka didn't have much time to react, and he surged forward trying to catch the last potato stick with his mouth. Once again, it ended up bouncing off his face–his chin, this time–and landing on the head of the person in front of them.

The three teenagers froze as the person in question flinched.

"What the hell?!" the guy yelled, dusting off his hair and watching the fry land on his shoe. He then turned an angry glare onto Sokka, Toph, and Zuko. "What the hell are you guys doing throwing food at people?!"

Waving his hands frantically, Sokka tried to dispel any conflict that was about to arise. "Ah, no, no, we were just screwing around, I'm sorry!"

The guy grumbled and rose from his seat, stomping away from them and up the main aisle stairs.

A beat, then the three erupted in laughter.

And that was how Katara and Aang found them a minute or so later.

"What havoc are you guys wreaking now?" Katara asked as she sat down next to Toph. Aang sidled in beside her, laughter in his grey eyes.

"Your brother sucks at catching food in his mouth," Toph said as she pinched the last fry between her fingers. She tossed it in Aang's general direction. "Catch, Twinkletoes."

The flute player followed the trajectory of the fry and, with expert precision, caught it in his mouth.

"Show-offs," Sokka muttered, dejectedly eating another sweet.

"Oh, Sokka, who's this?" Katara said, leaning forward to look past Toph and her brother to look at the newcomer to the group. Her blue eyes shone with curiosity.

Sokka forcibly swallowed the chocolate whole with a wince. "Ah, yeah. Katara, Aang, this is Zuko," he said, gesturing to the drummer. "Zuko, this is my sister, Katara, and her boyfriend, Aang."

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes?"

Katara rolled her eyes and Aang just laughed. "So, you know her nicknames for us, then?" the color guard girl asked, thoroughly unamused at the monikers but long since used to them.

"I'm still waiting for mine," he answered a bit sheepishly, with a scratch at the back of his neck.

"Give it some time," Toph repeated herself from earlier.

"Anyway, it's good to finally meet you," Katara said, a kind smile returning to her face. "My brother's been mooning over you for weeks now. It's good to put a face to the name."

Sokka nearly choked on the piece of candy he'd just put in his mouth. Spirits, was it the goal of every single person he knew to embarrass the shit out of him on a constant basis? He didn't even want to think about when he finally took Zuko to meet his dad…

...And now that he was thinking about that particular scenario, Sokka facepalmed with a groan that left everyone else in the group slightly confused.

"...Everything okay?" Zuko asked somewhat hesitantly, scooting closer to Sokka.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just bemoaning how everyone I know is out to embarrass me," he said with another dramatic groan, letting himself fall onto Zuko's shoulder. Even through two layers of clothing, Sokka could feel the sturdiness of his muscles.

"We only do it out of love," Aang said with possibly the brightest smile anyone on earth had ever seen. That was the thing about Aang–even when he was being a little shit, he radiated such positivity that it was borderline sickening.

No, sickening wouldn't be the right word, Sokka thought, backtracking. But he didn't know anyone else in the world that was as happy and upbeat as this kid. Sokka couldn't fault him for it, even if it did make him grumpy at times.

Still, Sokka was always kind of the butt monkey, wasn't he?

"I have to pee," Sokka suddenly announced, rising from his seat and hopping up the next several rows of bleachers as quickly as he could. In his haste, he missed Katara's comment about how sharing his bodily functions with everyone else was definitely more embarrassing than anything the rest of them could have said.

Once he reached the bathroom, he bypassed the urinals completely and hid away in a stall at the very back. He leaned his reddened face against the cool metal of the stall door, willing his flush of embarrassment to go away as soon as possible. He didn't even know why he was so bothered at the moment. He was more than used to his friends' teasing comments day in and day out, so why was he getting all bent out of shape over something that happened literally all the time?

"Sokka?" called out a familiar, slightly raspy voice.

The trumpet player held his breath–which he could do for quite a long time, being a brass instrument player that had been practicing breathing exercises since elementary school. But as a small smile crept onto his face, the breath he'd been holding slowly streamed out of his nostrils, causing slight condensation on the cold metal door.

Zuko had come after him.

Straightening himself up a bit, face still flushed, he twisted the chipped chrome lock and stepped out of the stall.

Zuko approached him slowly, making sure to keep at least a little distance between them. "Are you okay?"

Looking down at the concrete floor, Sokka rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. I...don't know what got into me," he admitted, heaving a sigh.

"Are you sure?" Zuko asked, hesitance clear in his voice.

"I'm sure. I'm just being weird for some reason," Sokka said, placing his palms on either of his cheeks and squeezing his mouth into a fishy shape.

The silly expression drew a small laugh out of Zuko. "You mean you're not always weird?"

Again, Sokka sighed. "Not you, too," he whined. "You've already caught on to their teasing."

"I do it out of love," Zuko echoed the words of Aang just minutes before and Sokka could swear his heart stopped.

What?

The L word?

Huh?!

Before Sokka had any more time to even try and comprehend what he heard, Zuko was cupping his face and pulling him up into a decidedly not chaste kiss. Sokka instinctively gripped onto Zuko's trim waist and, like his shoulders, felt the hard muscle beneath the fabric layers of his tank and hoodie. Sokka didn't think he'd ever get used to being the short one for once, having to stand slightly on his tiptoes and angle his neck up to kiss Zuko.

The door to the bathroom swung open and hit the wall behind it. The loud banging sound of metal on brick caused both boys to jump apart, startled and trying to gather themselves as if they'd been caught in the act of something untoward.

Which, well...wasn't wrong, per se, but. At least it was only kissing.

Thinking quickly, Sokka stepped over to one of the porcelain sinks and started washing his hands, which was a completely normal thing to do in a restroom and would absolve him of any suspicion whatsoever. Right?

Zuko seemed to get the hint to act casual and stepped over to one of the mirrors at the end of the row of sinks, attempting to fix his shaggy hair.

The boy who had slammed the door open a few moments ago, tall with a slim yet muscular build and dark shaggy hair almost like Zuko's, came up to the sink next to Sokka. Sokka watched the boy from the corner of his eye.

Said boy turned on the cold water faucet, cupped his hands beneath the running water until he held a small puddle in his palms, and splashed the cold water on his face. Still trying to remain inconspicuous, Sokka did his best to give the guy's clothes a once-over through his side-eyed glance. Brown uniform pants with green and gold stripes running down the sides, and some gold embellishment near the pockets. A green tee shirt the same green shade as the stripes on the pants, with a logo on the back that Sokka could barely make out as reading EKH.

So, this guy was from Earth Kingdom High School. Judging by how heated the dude's face looked, even after splashing a bunch of cold water on it, they must have just finished performing.

As Sokka was rinsing the soap off his hands, Zuko came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Meet me by concessions," the percussionist said in the most casual tone he could muster, though there was a slight blush at the tip of his nose.

Sokka nodded. "Alright."

Zuko was almost to the door when the guy from EKH suddenly looked up, his face alight with recognition.

"Zuko?" he asked sharply, straightening up from the sink and shaking his hands dry as he turned to the scarred teen.

Zuko stopped right in front of the door, barely glancing at the guy before shaking his head. "Don't know anyone by that name. You must have the wrong person," he said before hurrying out of the bathroom.

Sokka blinked in confusion.

EKH guy then turned to Sokka, looking angry for some reason. "He a friend of yours?" he asked, jerking his thumb to the door that was slowly closing in Zuko's wake.

"You could say that," Sokka responded, mentally kicking himself for the way his voice cracked at the end of that sentence.

The trumpet player backed up into the sink as EKH guy got right in his face. "Stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble," he nearly spat, the spun on his heel and left Sokka standing in the bathroom confused as all hell.

The tanned teen confusedly dried his hands and left the restroom a minute later, looking around for Zuko by the concessions where he said he'd be. Sure enough, his boyfriend was standing against the side wall with his hands in his hoodie pockets. His hood was up as if he was trying to hide his face.

What the hell?

Sokka approached Zuko and ducked slightly to look at his face under the hood. "Hey, stranger. What's up with the incognito act?"

Zuko's gold eyes almost seemed to glow in the shadows of the black fabric obscuring his face. "Trying to hide from that guy," he admitted, hunching his shoulders a little.

Sokka did a cursory glance around before focusing back on his boyfriend. "He's gone, don't worry." He paused, then said, "Do you know him?"

Zuko gave a curt nod, keeping his head low. "I went to school with him at EKH, when I lived with my uncle." He gave a humorless snort. "You can tell he's a center snare, because he has an ego with a temper to match."

Sokka's blood ran cold, but he couldn't figure out why. "You were on drumline with him?"

Another nod. But this time, Zuko didn't expand on the subject and instead suggested, "Let's get back to our seats. They should be announcing the rankings soon."

"R-right," Sokka stuttered, holding out his hand for Zuko to take. The taller teen did take his hand after a moment of consideration, and Sokka gave him a supportive squeeze.

Whoever this dude was, he couldn't have been just an old classmate. But Sokka didn't want to press–Zuko would tell him in his own time, if it was anything important to worry about. Of course, that didn't mean Sokka wouldn't worry about it, because he tended to worry about everything, but he could at least put his trust in his boyfriend not to keep important secrets from him.

When they returned to their seats with Toph, Katara, and Aang, Zuko finally removed his hood and even leaned a little on Sokka's shoulder.

Things would be fine, right?

Sokka smiled a little. Yeah, things would be fine, one way or another. He just had to keep trusting in that.

I have a rough outline of this fic now-chapter count wise, we're about halfway through. I'm planning for this fic to have 12 chapters plus an epilogue. Look forward to it!

Until next time,
Chibi