#zuko to work for him but zuko doesnt like architecture and really likes fashion design

[headaching]

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🎨 - show us a w.i.p of yours!

:-) this is from a college roommate au where zuko and sokka are sitting on the floor of their dorm after a night of drinking.

*

How the topic of their taste in men came up, Sokka couldn’t remember. Suddenly it seemed, Zuko was casually asking, “What kind of guys are you into?” Sokka stopped chewing mid-bite and set the upper half of the dinosaur-shaped nugget on the plate. He swallowed and avoided Zuko’s unbridled gaze.

“Um…” Sokka hummed as he crossed his legs and propped his elbows on them.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Zuko mumbled, then took a swig from the flask. He offered it to Sokka, who gratefully accepted.

“It’s okay,” Sokka replied before taking a long drink. He grimaced at the sensation of warm, shitty vodka burning its way along his esophagus. The immediate warmth flooded first Sokka’s stomach, then his cheeks, which only grew rosier as he considered a response. A stolen glance at Zuko revealed his knees had fallen to the floor, his hands braced beside him on the carpet.

“I don’t know,” Sokka admitted with a shrug, his eyes glued to the floor. “I’ve never dated a man before.” Sokka decided on another quick swig for his bravery, and passed it to Zuko, whose eyes hadn’t left Sokka’s face.

“Really?” he asked, sounding astonished.

Sokka nodded sheepishly and hiccuped. “Does that surprise you?” he asked softly, and Zuko tilted his head in thought.

“Kind of. You’re always talking about guys you think are hot,” Zuko observed, and Sokka’s blush crept to his ears.

“Take another drink,” Sokka instructed, afraid to be the drunkest one in the room. Zuko obliged, but his eyes didn’t leave Sokka even as the flask touched his lips. “Yeah, I think a lot of guys are hot,” Sokka continued, the scrutiny of Zuko’s stare a microscope, “but that doesn’t mean I want to date them.”

“Fair enough,” Zuko agreed, the words slurred. Zuko’s eyes narrowed in front of him, focused on nothing in particular as he tipped the flask back once more. When he was finished, Zuko shook the flask, the empty space accentuated. He held it out to Sokka and offered, “Want the last drink?”

Sokka grimaced. “I guess so,” he replied.

He almost spit out the vodka when Zuko nonchalantly implored, “So does that mean you’ve never kissed a guy?”

The alcohol effectively incinerated Sokka’s throat, so his confession was raspy, “No, I haven’t.”

“Do you want to?” Though Zuko’s words ran together, they were confident. The combination of Zuko and the alcohol had the room reeling, or maybe it was just Sokka. He could barely feel his legs as they pulled into his chest, or his hands grazing his shins.

“I do,” Sokka affirmed. His heart hammered like the beat of a drum and Zuko was holding the sticks. “I never really had the opportunity, and…” Words and complex thought alluded him, each blink slowed with drunken stupor. “What if I’m not good at it?”

The question suspended in the air. Zuko shifted so his entire body was directed at Sokka with his knees crossed. “Bet you are,” Zuko argued knowingly, his eyebrow raised. Sokka huffed a short laugh of disbelief.

“Yeah? You think so?” Sure, Sokka had conversed with Zuko on more than one occasion in a way that could be interpreted as flirting, but it was always for the purpose of lighthearted teasing. Sokka clung to the safety of claiming satire, but Zuko never seriously complained. Now, initiated by Zuko, it felt more substantial, somehow.

Zuko nodded, his assurance a simple, “Yup.”

“And why’s that?” Sokka prodded, and relaxed his position to mirror Zuko’s, unafraid now to focus his attention on him.

Sokka was bewildered for a moment when Zuko’s thumb drug across Sokka's lower lip. “That stupid mouth,” Zuko laughed, and Sokka’s jaw fell in mock betrayal. “It’s gotta be good for something.”

Sokka moved the plate to his other side so he could kick Zuko’s leg and slap his hand away at the same time. “Asshole,” he muttered, but Zuko’s giggle was relentless. He slumped over and rested his forehead against his arms as his shoulders shook with laughter. “Ya done?” Sokka asked sarcastically.

When Zuko craned his neck upward, he was no longer laughing, but a dreamy grin encapsulated his face. In one fast motion, Zuko’s fingers smoothed across Sokka’s exposed bicep and caressed the muscles lightly. “What if…” Zuko slurred as his fingers worked their way to Sokka’s chin. “What if I’m the first guy you kiss, for practice?”

Sokka let out a tortured breath as his hand closed around Zuko’s wrist, but he didn’t remove Zuko’s fingers. “Zuko,” Sokka breathed, his voice gentle, “you’re really drunk.” It sounded hypocritical out of his mouth, warped and garbled.

“So’re you,” Zuko countered defiantly. He even glared in the cutest way possible, and Sokka was sure his bones liquified. His thoughts jumbled all around his head, and logic was indiscernible amongst the whirlwind of excitement. Zuko bit his lip as his hand fell to Sokka’s shoulder. “Do you want to?” he asked hesitantly, and Sokka hadn’t the willpower to lie.

“Yes,” he replied instantly, and Zuko’s eyes fluttered closed.

Sokka resigned to his erratic breathing and focused on his fingers, testing a featherlight touch against either side of Zuko’s jaw. He unfolded his legs to rest his weight on his knees, and with him he brought Zuko’s head tilted upward. Sokka’s eyes closed and he leaned forward until their lips made contact.

#thank you so much for sending this! #i hope yall like it <3 #the concept is that sokka is an engineering major/dance minor and zuko is an architecture major because ozai is an architect ceo and wants #zuko to work for him but zuko doesnt like architecture and really likes fashion design #sokka and zuko are best friends/roommates but maybe definitely more and sokka has a plan to get zuko out of his head using the dance studio #anyway none of that is relevant to this excerpt really but im excited for the fic :^) #wip #my work #asks #mutuals #also i love your blog and your art 💖