#perhaps i'll do the proper editing to put this up on ao3 but idk if i want to on smth silly like this so! alas!

[chitsangenthusiast]

imagine with me, if you will: a zukka meet-cute at a farmer's market. where zuko doesn't know a damn thing about the different types of produce, but it's alright because sokka's certainly happy to help 🍊

(aka a longer oneshot that got a little out of control bc i perhaps might be a little too excited for farmers market season starting up soon!)

—

“Since when you do the produce shopping?” Zuko asks the second he’s within distance of Mai. She hadn’t noticed him at first, too glued to her phone and busy radiating anger to ensure no one comes anywhere close to her. Except for Zuko, who just wordlessly hands over an iced latte as he takes a long sip of his own.

“I don’t.” His presence doesn’t even startle her; she answers easily while glancing over with a sharp glare, stewing, before she accepts the drink. “I take Ty Lee’s list and black out until I’m able to get back to my car.”

“Oh, so I’m your designated moral support or something then?” he asks in amusement, and reaches over to take the pink paper with Ty Lee’s looping handwriting from her hand.

Mai scoffs, and takes off without waiting for him. “No, you were just the closest one within walking distance this time.”

“So you’re admitting I’m dependable. How nice of you,” Zuko shoots back with a smirk, then starts speedwalking because she actually isn’t slowing down for him.

He’s quickly frowning through as they approach the first booth, when he gets a good look at the list. “What the hell is a kumquat?”

“Stop wasting my time,” Mai snaps back. “And Azula made that same joke last week. Neither of you are funny.”

Zuko petulantly glowers at her. “We’re hilarious, actually.”

Mai doesn’t last long at the first booth; she barely even steps up to the counter, choosing to stay back just far enough to not be helped as she takes in their produce and the prices, then is quickly moving on. Zuko follows closely behind, only occasionally throwing out suggestions and prices as they make their way around.

It very quickly becomes extremely obvious that neither of them know what half of the things on Ty Lee’s list are.

“I should’ve stuck with Azula,” Mai complains, crossing her arms as she sullenly watches Zuko google what something is for the sixth time. “Or just told Ty Lee we’d go next week. But at least Azula knows more than you do.”

“Whatever, that’s only because her partner helps out at a community garden,” Zuko grumbles, glancing up with a glare. He’s pretty sure he’s finally getting closer to figuring out the difference between celery and celeriac. “Which is cheating. She neverknew any of that stuff before they started dating.”

“This also goes a lot faster with her,” Mai continues to sulk, ignoring him. She’s already looking away from him and back out into the crowd. Her scrutiny then lands on the flower stand at the end of their path, and she turns back to him. “Stay here, I’m going to get flowers.”

Zuko smiles at the gesture, then furrows his brow. “Wait, what? Why can’t I come?”

“Because I don’t need you helping me decide on a bouquet for my girlfriend,” he immediately gets back, and he scoffs. Mai then waves a vague hand toward the large booth to their right, and says, “Ty Lee goes here the most. See if you can find anything here until I get back.”

And then she’s off, leaving Zuko with a list of random vegetables in one hand and a watered-down coffee in the other, without any chance to convince her otherwise.

He turns to the booth, purses his lips, and strides over.

It’s busy, but not unorderly. Zuko quickly realizes there’s a line that he has to wait in—andbaskets as soon as he gets to the front. The girl who hands one over also gives him a welcoming yet tired smile, but she still seems happy to bounce back over to the elderly couple a couple spots ahead of him to help with their shopping. She’s not the only one behind the counter; there’s a few more people down the line, all engaged in conversations and serving customers, which is admittedly nice to see that there’s always the possibility for assistance considering the insane amount of produce this place has.

Not like Zuko is going to do that.

People end up moving around him, too polite to say anything but also too impatient to wait as he moves at a snail’s pace. The booth, thankfully, has signs with prices in front of everything so he can at least match up the names on the list with what’s in front of him, but it’s slow going. The lettering is just a touch too small for Zuko to be able to read quickly without squinting his good eye, and at times he can’t tell if the sign is referring to everything in the crate or just specific things.

He huffs in rising agitation; it’s frustrating, and he doesn’t like the rising anxiety of feeling out of his element right now.

“—help you?”

A voice suddenly breaks through his intense focus, and Zuko’s head snaps up, startled. Waiting on the other side of the counter is a guy just about his age in a loose tank top and a small grin on his face. Zuko stares, then flushes and jerks his gaze down the plethora of tomatoes between them.

“Uh, no thank you,” he guesses. He only caught the tail-end of the guy’s question, but he’s gotten good at filling in the gaps when people talk a little too quietly too him.

Though the laugh he gets in response is loud enough for him to catch, and it makes him look back up. He’s instinctively put on edge by the open amusement he sees, as the guy gestures to his near-empty basket.

“Sure, fair. I figured I’d come by and check though, since it looks like you’re trying to decide on a lot of things.” His response is light-hearted, but Zuko catches the teasing dig underneath it all, and he frowns at him.

“I’m managing fine.”

The guy’s smile turns just a little more pointed. “For what it’s worth, we can only allow so many people through the line at a time to keep the crowd down.”

Zuko gets the hint; he cuts a glance over to the front of the line where people are still waiting to start shopping, then back to the guy in front of him. His brow furrows in deep frustration—

“What the fuck is a sunchoke?” he snarls out, annoyed, then rears back. “Uh, sorry, that was a lot harsher than I meant to be. I’m just—”

“Overwhelmed?” the guy fills in for him, chuckling. He’s got a nice laugh. “Well, I can tell you it’s definitely not a type of tomato. Here, hand me your list and we can try to figure out what you need.”

He has nice hands too.

Zuko just nods, and lets himself be helped.

It’s amazing how fastproduce shopping can go when you actually know what things are.

Soon enough, his basket is filled—he ends up needing two of them—all of the items are crossed off Ty Lee’s list, and he’s now standing at the makeshift checkout stand, watching as the guy weighs his items and types in the prices. He’s been smiling the whole time, and Zuko is trying not to read too much into it but he’s pretty sure that his happy expression has been turning into one of rising interest the longer they’ve been together.

He’s starting on the second basket before Zuko clears his throat.

“Thanks for your help, by the way, uh—” he falters, and the guy looks over at him with a twinkling grin.

“Sokka, nice to meet you,” he easily supplies, “and no problem, dude, happy to help. I like knowing that people enjoy what we bring to the market.”

“I’m doing this for a friend,” Zuko mutters, feeling for some reason like he needs to explain himself, but then startles. “Uh, not that I wouldn’t not shop here otherwise. Farmer’s markets are great, I just don’t really cook or—”

“Chill, you’re fine,” Sokka laughs—and it’s a reallynice sound, especially when couples with how he looks now that they’re out of the tent and the sun is hitting his cheekbones perfectly— “Always happy to help first-timers too. Maybe our stuff can even convince you to keep coming back, yeah?”

Sokka says it lightly, but there’s a glint in his crinkling eyes that has already convinced Zuko that he’s going to be coming back next week. He takes a second too long to respond, a little too entranced, but Sokka doesn’t seem to mind; he hums as he takes the reusable bags from Zuko to start bagging.

“Alright, are you planning to pay with cash or card?” he eventually asks once he’s finished, and Zuko frowns. Mai was the one with the cash for this. With a sigh, he pulls out his wallet to grab his card and hands it over. Sokka nods and picks up the tablet to swipe it through the card reader, but then stops before he can do so.

“Oh! Before I forget—” he points at a laminated sign hanging overhead— “we’re collecting donations for a local LGBT organization today! I have a friend there who’s trying to set up a new summer program for the kids around here soon, and would appreciate any help, if you’d be up for giving them a few dollars.”

It’s said casually, like he’s talking about literally any other organization that asks for donations.

But Zuko freezes. Suddenly, the comforting heat of the afternoon feels a little suffocating—and then overwhelmingly revitalizing, as he stares up at the bright blue flyer. The rush of emotions coursing through him leaves him a little dizzy, and the colors on cutesy rainbow header are starting to swirl together a little.

Sokka shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and then there feels like a chasm between them.

“Or not,” he flatly adds, tapping on the edge of the stand. “Whatever floats your boat with stuff.”

“No. I’d, uh, I’ll make a donation,” Zuko breathes out, quickly cutting his gaze back to Sokka’s. “Uh, can I do it on my card?”

Sokka’s eyebrows go up. “Sure. A lot of people are doing that, so we’re just gonna send it to them after we close up for the day.”

“That works,” Zuko nods distractedly. “I’ll do fifty dollars then.”

His eyes have fallen to Sokka’s hands, choosing to scrutinize them instead of fighting himself to maintain eye contact, but Sokka makes no attempt to move. Instead, the tablet slides a little in his grip, as if it’s been completely forgotten.

“Wait, really?” he finally gets out, and the disbelief in his voice has Zuko meeting his gaze again. Sokka looks both surprised and pleased—Zuko hunches his shoulders in response to the quick flutter of his heartbeat at the sight.

“You sure? Or did I just hear you wrong?”

“No, yeah, go ahead,” Zuko mutters, ducking his head. He starts to say something more, but the words catch in his throat and he fumbles for a moment.

Sokka watches as he tenses up, and waits.

Suddenly, Zuko lets out an explosive sigh, straightens himself up, and firmly holds his gaze. “I’m gay, so I’m happy to give a donation to support any organization like that.”

It’s a statement, an announcement, and Zuko can only hold his head up for so long before he sags under the weight of the admission. His heart is racing, his chest is tingling, but as soon as he gets it out, all his mounting nervousness immediately softens into a light happiness that leaves him exhaling out a deep, relieved breath.

“Cool,” Sokka says gently in response, and Zuko is a little winded by how sweet his smile is. “Wow, thanks. My friend will really appreciate it.”

“Yeah,” Zuko mumbles with a half-hearted shrug. He’s still feeling a little too exposed, despite all of the exhilaration at finally being able to admit it in public. He fidgets as Sokka types in the amount, trying to find a way to release more of this pent-up energy, then decides to keep going for lack of anything better to do. “You’re, uh, the person I’ve told who isn’t a close friend.”

His card freezes midway through the card reader as Sokka stills in surprise, before he’s whipping his head up to stare at Zuko in astonishment.

“Really?” he rushes out. Zuko crosses his arms, feeling awkward, but the impressed grin on Sokka’s face persuades him to not hunker down into them for protection. He nods silently, and Sokka lets out a disbelieving laugh. “Whoa, that’s—dude, wow, that’s so awesome! Is it weird that I feel special for that?”

The card reader beeps at him, and Sokka only briefly pays it attention to reswipe the card and finish out the transaction before fully turning back to him. He holds out the card, yet doesn’t immediately let go when Zuko reaches out to grab it.

Instead, he leans forward on the stand, moving himself closer into Zuko’s space, and teasingly sways their hands on the card back and forth a little. “You know, I wouldn’t mind becoming one of your close friends too.”

The smile he sends up is sweet, enticing, and it makes Zuko’s breath catch.

“Oh,” is all he can say in return, awed, and Sokka happily laughs at him before letting go of the card to stick out his hand.

“Then let me reintroduce myself. Hi, I’m Sokka, I like carbs, bike rides, and pretending like I know how to parkour,” he says, and his tone turns mischievous as he continues. “And you are very attractive.”

Zuko’s face flames, and his heartbeat thrills as he takes Sokka’s hand to shake it.

“Hello,” he murmurs. His cheeks start to hurt from how hard he’s smiling. “I’m Zuko. I like coffee, and my favorite cafe is right around the corner if you’re free at all today.”

Sokka chuckles as he glances down at the empty cup on the stand, then at the fact that neither of them have moved to let go of the other’s hand. He hums, running his thumb over Zuko’s knuckles, and Zuko finds he really likes the way the sun shows off the freckles all over Sokka’s face and around his mouth.

“Well, Zuko, if you can wait for five minutes when my sister comes to take over for me, then I can be all yours.”

— — —

“Okay, why does Mai hate you?”

Sokka pauses in the middle of hefting the empty crates back into the truck, then lets out a loud laugh. “Oh, I hit on Ty Lee in front of her the first time they came up to the stall.”

Zuko’s mouth drops right open. “And you’re alive?”

Then his attention focuses on something more important. “Do you hit on everyone who comes to your stand?”

“Only the very pretty ones, sweetheart,” Sokka easily throws back, and the pointed smirk he sends over makes Zuko’s jaw close with a tight snap, and he huffs. A few months in, and it’s still very annoying at how his cheeks will immediately heat up at that look.

Sokka laughs triumphantly and bends over to give Zuko a peck on his forehead. “And what can I say, babe. People always come back because they love what we’ve got to offer.”

He looks nice in the setting sun like this, blue eyes bright despite the wanning light, and his grin even brighter as he nuzzles into his boyfriend’s cheek before pulling back to grab another crate.

Zuko smiles, and gets up to catch Sokka into a quick, happy kiss before he moves to help.

“Yeah, I guess I can agree with that.”

#zukka #zuko #sokka #a full warning that if you open the read more this is kinda long lol #(but i got a bit too tender thinking abt a newly out zuko experiencing the joy of making himself known so here we are!) #anyway this can't count as a retail au if it's set outside <3 #my writing #kathfics #own post #long #long post #(just in case the read more breaks for whatever reason) #perhaps i'll do the proper editing to put this up on ao3 but idk if i want to on smth silly like this so! alas!