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Slam. Dunk. Motherfuckerssssss.
It was chaos – cheering, yelling, joyful weeping, and mild annoyance from those who had already begun their intense study schedules, despite exams not being for another two weeks. Pfft nerds.
Zuko was laughing and cheering next to him, and Sokka had never seen anyone so beautiful.
----
It had been nothing at first, just Sokka throwing a ball of paper into the bin from his seat during one of the classes, the norm.
But one day, after a particularly good lesson where he’d been able to hold his argument in the class discussion, with liberal amounts of academic smack talk (mostly at Jet who was continuously hellbent on proving him wrong in everything always). Eventually people had started bringing up moot points, until finally someone, (Zuko, of course), casually asked about the one point he knew Sokka never remembered. And Sokka had floundered.
However, in those moments of the total and utter betrayal, Zuko had turned towards Jet- who was already looking too smug for the few seconds that had passed- and proceeded to further cement Sokka's point and totally obliterate Jets’.
In his cheers, and with the oooooh’s of the class, Sokka had thrown his balled up papers, and to his surprise it had landed spot on in the bin by the door. Which considering they’d been sitting in the far back row with 29 rows in front and it was only half visible to him…..well, there was no stopping him now.
And now it had come to this: each class for the rest of the term he’d made it a point to sit in random locations around the lecture hall (always saving a seat for Zuko, of course) and throw the balled up paper. He rarely missed- and when he consistently missed one day, it was Zuko (of course) who mentioned he needed to account for the push of the air from the fans spinning above, all said while not even looking up from his sketching. The blush on his visible ear was adorable. Sokka nailed the next throw.
By the end of the term the whole class was invested. It was an end of lesson moment of joy, no one moved until it had been thrown. And Sokka happily took the praise, as well as the joking criticism whenever he missed. Even Professor Pinado encouraged him with a ‘and now for the final reach of the day, Sokka, if you’d please’.
Soon he wasn’t missing at all.
The surprise came from the last lecture before the exam – Professor Pinado, casually ending the class with “Now, as for your exam, due to the stressful times of multiple exams, I’m offering you one last matter for discussion. As a class you can decide – if Sokka can land the shot from the farthest seat in this room, you all get automatic A for the exam. And if he doesn’t land it, you just have to do the exam.”
It was unanimous. Sokka prepared for the shot, including accounting for the fans, and making the ball to the specifications he’d been noting down in the past for each throw (writing it down meant it was science, thus could potentially be used for reference in future plans. This was just a bonus).
Pinado had added he could have 3 shots; and knowing his professor as he did, Sokka was pretty sure Pinado just didn’t want to grade the exams.
So Sokka lined up the shot, and the rest was history.
----
After class Sokka and Zuko lay in the afternoon sun, talking about nothing as the adrenaline rush wore off, the warmth of the sun coaxing a nap. They’d finally made it out of the halls. The hugs, cheers, and clapping following them all around the grounds. The oval was at least emptier of congratulations than the halls.
Their phones dinged simultaneously.
Sukules 3:41pm
PARTY AT OURS! BYO. GOON OF FORTUNE PROVIDED
Sukules 3:42pm
SOKKA YOU DONT HAVE A CHOICE. BE THERE OR I’LL CARRY YOU MYSELF
Sukules 3:42pm
WE GOT YOU A CAKE AS THANKS FOR ACING THE EXAM FOR US
Zuko laughed as he read the two following texts, clearly not for him at all. It wasn’t the first time Suki has sent them both texts for the other. They had a theory she just lumped their messages together because if one of them saw it they’d tell the other anyway, read over a shoulder…. read it for them…. Hm, maybe she had a point.
“ Well, so much for a quiet gaming night in, Mr Man of Acing the Exam” Zuko teased, as Sokka groaned, bringing his hands to his face, then making sure his arm landed directly on Zuko’s abdomen as he stretched up and star fished out.
“ I know you have a million and three comments to make,” Sokka started as Zuko’s hand smooshed his face in retaliation, “and in my time of glory and ego boosting I would highly appreciate if you could wait until my heart stops racing because I’m still not sure this is real.”
Sokka squawked as Zuko pinched his side. “What? I’m helping confirm the realness for you! Would you prefer water in your face?”
“ You’re being too mean to me, I just aced your exam, show some respect!” Sokka turned to glare at Zuko, instead getting an eyeful of the sun and just squinting unevenly at him before giving up and staring upwards again. Zuko gave him a sideways look, “We both know we would’ve aced it anyway,”
“ Yeah, but it’s not about ‘ us ’, this is about ME!”
Zuko threw grass at his face. And as Sokka sat up to stuff more grass down Zuko’s shirt, his face softened. From this position the sun was shining on Zuko, his hair haloed as he laughed, and Sokka swore his heart was beating loud enough for Zuko to hear even as he laughed. God, he was so in love with his best friend it was ridiculous.
He still stuffed grass down his shirt.
----
On any regular occasion Sokka dressed up, (Katara would call it overdressed, he disagreed), and now was the perfect time to Dress Up. This event called for the gaudiest outfit he owned – his matching set of obnoxiously golden pants and shirt were perfect for the Party to Celebrate Him. Plus his butt looked real nice in the pants (of everything, he had his priorities sorted).
Sokka walked out into the hall of his and Zuko’s shared apartment, twirling around in front of the mirror and shooting finger guns off at all angles. He adjusted the fit, and swapped accessories, until he settled on a pair of aviators that were purely for decoration in his hair.
Zuko then had the audacity to wear his paint splattered skinny jeans, (the ones that made his butt look real nice) and the fact they were actually his painting pants was usually only a slight issue, but when paired with this dark, patterned, mostly unbuttoned collared shirt that billowed as he walked from his room, and a gold chain that lay against his collarbones, well that was just entirely unfair.
Although, on the bright side, Sokka got to look at Zuko in this outfit, so maybe it was only a little bit unfair.
----
They walked to Suki, Ty Lee, and Mai’s place. Their house was often the party palace, and even without parties was always decorated in some way regardless of season or event, standing out in the rest of the regular houses. Today, it was Pantheon-esque, and yet, really well done for such a last minute party – Sokka didn’t flatter himself that much , they’d clearly already been planning for an after exams party.
“ Aw look at all this Zuko, just for me!” he grinned lightly shoving Zuko's shoulder, Zuko shoved him back while replying, “Try not to get too big of a head- got a bunch of doors in there.” Sokka just shoved him again and Zuko yelped as he walked into overhanging branches.
As they approached the house there was a yell from someone out front “HE’S HERE!”
Sokka and Zuko exchanged looks as a crowd of people rushed towards them, and Sokka found himself being lifted up by the crowd, everyone below him cheering as they carried him into the house. He looked back bewildered to see Zuko laughing and walking along behind with Ty Lee, who was…dressed in a toga?
The house erupted in more yelling and cheering as he was set in an armchair that was on top of the table. Sokka was entertained, so he stayed sitting in the chair, having decided that moving was not in his best interest at this time.
Suki climbed up on the table next to him yelling at someone behind him, she was…..also wearing a toga? With her this close Sokka noticed her skin gleaming in the multi-coloured lighting. He touched her arm only to pull it back quickly as he felt the oil.
“We had a bet, Ty Lee won,” Suki explained, while explaining nothing. Sokka quirked an eyebrow, “and.. you’re in a toga and covered in oil because…..that was what Ty Lee wanted?” To Suki’s credit she didn’t blush, only shot him a wicked grin as she posed, her back muscles rippling gloriously, “I’m obviously Hercules, dummy. Ty Lee’s Athena, and Mai’s a very grumpy Aphrodite, she lost.”
Sokka rolled his eyes,“Oh yeah, that makes so much more sense, thanks for clearing that up for me.” Suki stuck her tongue out at him, the smell of alcohol already on her breath, still turning to shout at someone behind him.
Apparently whatever was happening behind him was finally resolved, as Suki yelled for everyone to shut up, before yelling out across the packed living room, “Today, we are gathered here to celebrate fuckin’ acing our exam, thanks to the skill and expertise of this man here: Sokka. The man who bravely took the challenge to expand his skill set, and apply the knowledge of pythagoras in the flesh!” Suki was way more buzzed than Sokka had originally assumed.
“ We are here today to honour his legacy and get fuckin’ wrecked! By the physical prowess vested in me, I dub thee ‘Sokka’, and bestow upon you this crown of glory!” His glasses were removed then a homemade, yellow, paper crown was squashed on his head. Everyone yelled and cheered, some caught up in Suki’s enthusiasm, others in their own buzz. Sokka was more than 60% certain that more than half of these people were not in their class at all.
In a few moments as everyone slowed their cheering, Aang yelled from the direction of the kitchen, “AND THERE’S CAKE!”
“AND THERE’S CAKE!” Suki echoed, riling everyone up again. Sokka was feeling less sure of his safety upon this throne as the crowd jostled the table to make way for Aang and Katara carrying the cake – the two woolies mud-cakes stacked together, the icing dripping from the middle, and covered in sprinkles.
Suddenly he noticed Zuko had finally made it nearer to the table, a bottle of Fanta in hand, as he laughed at Sokka being in the middle of everything having no idea what was coming next. He raised the bottle at him in a mock salute. Sokka didn’t have a chance to tease Zuko about his horrid taste, or really, lack of taste in drink, as Suki called to order once more.
“ Sokka, as guest of honour you can have the first piece of cake; which will be fed to you by our designated person. Because you, like me, have already done the heavy lifting!” As she dabbed and flexed, Sokka wondered just how many references of being buff Suki had prepared for this costume, before he suddenly registered Ty Lee dragging Zuko towards the cake and whispering something in his ear.
The grin on Zuko’s face did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves; it was in fact adding into his mental list of cons for reasons to stay in this chair.
“ Can we get this over with, some of us want to get smashed already!” Toph yelled out from where she was sitting on top of the long couch with Mai, who was also in a toga, her long hair braided with strands of gold. Mai did not look happy about this.
Suki spoke up again, “Calm your tits Toph, you’ll be there soon enough! Zuko, if you’d please?”
Whilst absolutely not paying attention Sokka discovered Zuko had now also climbed on the table, a piece of cake in his hand and upon his face a look of revenge for the grass he’d been shaking out of his shirt all afternoon. If Sokka believed in prayer, he might start now, but alas, it was too late as Zuko ‘missed’ his mouth, smushing the cake into his cheek instead. Everyone cheered, though if it was for the cake, or because the music was turned up, Sokka didn’t know.
“ Oh golly! I’m just so sorry about that, Your Highness!” Zuko said grinning, absolutely not sorry at all. As such, Sokka didn’t feel bad at all about grabbing the slice on his face and smushing it on Zuko's shirt in retaliation. Okay, maybe he felt a little bad, as Zuko stared at his shirt and then at him. They were the only two left on the table which was now moving more unnervingly as the party rocking in the house had begun. But the most unnerving thing was when Zuko just shrugged, pulled his shirt over his head, wiped the icing on his chest off and threw it towards the couch, earning a yell from Toph, and then jumped off the table into the crowd.
Despite the increased rocking of the armchair, Sokka was still staring at the space Zuko had vacated.
Was it like, a million degrees hotter in here, or was that just Sokka? Judging from everything, it was definitely just Sokka. He finally jumped down from his throne, receiving cheers and claps to the back as he pushed through to the kitchen for a much needed drink.
----
By the time Sokka had made it outside, much cake and shots now consumed, it was to find Zuko laying on one of the lawn chairs cheering with the rest of their group as Ty Lee shot suction cup arrows onto Suki's muscular, oil slicked back; they all hollered as another one stuck.
Sokka may have payed more notice to the group activities, if it wasn’t for the fact that Zuko, who had previously been shirtless all the times he’d seen him inside, and had shot Sokka a wink as he dodged away from him again- was now wearing a sheer, glitter, wrap crop top, and pink heart shaped sunglasses – the outfit most definitely courtesy of Ty Lee. Sokka was too sober for this.
“ Here,” Mai appeared next to him and waved a lit joint in front of him, “you look like you could use this.” Eyes not moving from Zuko, Sokka inhaled deeply from the joint, and then ugly coughed the smoke out as Zuko turned towards him and looked at him over the top of the glasses and shot finger guns at him. He had already had a puff then.
“ Mai, was he such a menace when you two were dating?”
“ Nah,” she said, and Sokka eased slightly, but Mai continued, “you two just have so much chaotic U.S.T. it’s nauseating.”
Not the answer he wanted... and
also
not not the answer he wanted, Sokka didn’t really know what answer he was expecting. Sokka inhaled from the joint again, his mind relaxing, the familiar fuzziness descending and suppressing the added anxiety of his horrendously huge crush on Zuko. Well, no time like the present. For doing what though, Sokka still wasn’t sure yet.
----
Aang was high – mentally from the weed, and physically from his perch on the hills hoist, controlling the spin with his feet. So of course that was when he had The Best Idea.
As more people had spilled outside the Goon of Fortune had begun, the silver bag swinging around, and the cries when it was spilled down a shirtfront. Occasional trick shots, to be supervised by Toph – so many people fell for it. The game had died down now though and Aang called the group over from where they’d all been in a pile chatting and lazing about in their high.
“ Hey! HEY!!! Hear me out: truth, dare, and goon of fortune? C’mon!”
Suki was the first to cave, she never backed down from dares. Which obviously meant Sokka had to join in because they could only ever one up each other. Eventually, they had all gathered around, blinking up at Aang, who began the spinning of the line.
As usual it begun tame and simple: Sokka and Suki racing to see who could get on the roof fastest (Ty Lee joining in because she wanted to), seeing who could hold a handstand longest, cartwheel the most.. Katara lost the cartwheels and was hosed down when she declined the goon.
Then came the clothes swapping. Sokka now the proud wearer of Ty Lee’s shiny sheer thing, and Zuko was pulling Sokka's shirt on, rolling up the sleeves but leaving it unbuttoned. He refused to hand over the heart sunnies though and had to suffer the goon as a consequence. He didn’t seem to put out by it, leaning back generously to take a swig, the last drips falling on his chest.
Sokka was feeling a little too horny from just looking at Zuko. And unfortunately for him, Suki had noticed him noticing Zuko.
“ SOKKA, I dare you to a staring contest!”
“ Bring it Sukules, you motherfucker!”
(“I thought that was Oedipus?” Toph muttered, Katara elbowed her in the side)
Unbeknownst to Sokka, Aang had caught on to Suki's vivid gesturing out of his line of sight, “Well Zuko did lose his last dare, so how about a shot at redemption?”
Zuko, a well known fool for a challenge when buzzed, accepted; tilting his head towards Sokka, grinning at him.
Sokka thought about praying again as they walked towards each other.
“ Ah! Finally, we meet again,” Zuko drawled as he and Sokka came to a standstill. Sokka closed his eyes in preparation to lose. Because he was going to lose if Zuko insisted on smack talking like that.
“ Well, maybe we would’ve met more earlier if you hadn’t smashed cake into my face.” Sokka knew how words worked, really.
“ Eh, hazards of a party. You gotta roll with it, Boo,” it felt like Zuko had shimmied. Sokka could not do this.
“ Sokka, you gotta open your eyes for a staring contest!” Suki heckled from the middle of the hoist, where everyone was now crowded to watch. Sokka breathed in, raised his middle finger in her general direction, and opened his eyes to find Zuko way closer than he remembered him being mere seconds ago.
“ Wassup, Boo?” Zuko had not removed the glasses. And Zuko was smiling at Sokka, while wearing Sokka's shirt . There was glitter dusted across his cheeks and collarbones, a sheen of pink gloss on his lips. Sokka couldn’t stop himself from looking at Zuko's lips.
“ Hey , eyes up here, Hotstuff,” Zuko murmured, and was it just Sokka or were they moving closer together? Their chests bumped and Sokka finally managed to tear his eyes away from the gloss (yeah, the gloss) only to find Zuko grinning at him with hooded eyes, “see something you like, pretty boy?”
Oh, fuck it.
Sokka grabbed Zuko by (his) shirt collar; Zuko went willingly.
The gloss was sticky and vaguely tasted like strawberries. It suited him, Sokka thought absentmindedly as their lips slid against each other with absolutely no finesse, just desperately trying to kiss him with all the pent up energy and affection from years of pining.
Luckily, Zuko seemed to be in the same mindset. His nails dug into Sokka's bare, lower back, the sheer shiny top and Sokka's open shirt both blessings for skin to skin contact as they clutched at each other and pressed close. Sokka threaded his fingers into the soft hair at the side of Zuko's head, his hand tightening as Zuko let out a low moan into their kiss, the vibration going right through him, the hair pull only urging them on, oblivious to the crowd and cheers that had accumulated behind them.
----
“ Told you this was the best idea,” Aang chirped, as they were all still watching them kiss, though it was rapidly becoming too obscenely sexual. Money was passed around to him and Suki, their phones noisy with notifications of received money as word got around that Sokka and Zuko had finally clued in. “Best idea,” Suki agreed as she and Aang fist bumped.
“ Hey, Sukules,” Sokka’s voice cut through her note counting, she looked up warily, “since you’re banging Ty Lee and Mai, can we borrow your room?”
Katara, ever prepared, sprayed Sokka with the hose. And although drenched, Zuko and Sokka’s laughter carried on as they left the party, headed back to their place, years of tension ready to be thoroughly worked out.
----
Ty Lee did not get her glasses or shirt back.