Iroh's Gourmet Teas and Teapots

The Question

Zuko carefully wove the last fire lily into the crown. He double checked the knots to make sure it wouldn't fall apart the moment Sokka put it on his head (if he decided to put it on his head), then set off to find him.

Zuko had gotten a letter back from Uncle that morning telling him the best ways to go about courting Sokka. He had said that one could never go wrong with the crown of fire lilies. If Sokka put it on his head, then it would mean he had accepted Zuko's courtship proposal. If he threw it behind him, it would mean that Zuko had been rejected and would have to leave town in shame. Since they were currently on the run from the Fire Nation and therefore not in a town proper, Zuko wasn't sure what he was supposed to do if he was rejected.

'Hopefully,' Zuko thought, 'It won't come to that.'

He spotted Sokka cleaning his boomerang and made his way over anxiously, holding the crown in both hands.

"Hey, Sokka," Zuko called across the camping site.

"What's up, man?" Sokka asked, looking up from his boomerang.

Zuko handed him the crown. "I, um, I wove this for you. It's a crown of fire lilies. No pressure, but I was wondering if you would accept this as a token of my-"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Sokka said, taking the crown.

Zuko breathed out a breath of relief. "Good. I'm so glad. I was up all night making it, I'm so relieved you accept."

"Yeah, I love fire lilies." Sokka, much to Zuko's disbelief, brought the fire lilies up to his mouth and took a big bite. "They remind me of seaweed, which reminds me of when I was a kid."

Zuko felt his mouth fall open in shock. He closed it as quickly as he could. 'Did he just eat them?' he thought, 'Is that a rejection?'

Zuko laughed uncomfortably. "Haha, great. Yeah, seaweed is cool."

"You've had it?"

"No."

Sokka grinned. "You always say the weirdest things, man. I love that about you."

Zuko chatted with Sokka for a few more minutes about seaweed and other things that didn't at all relate to Zuko's proposal, trying to sound casual and as if his heart hadn't been ripped out and stomped upon.

Once the conversation reached a natural end point, Zuko walked away and decided to help Katara cook dinner.
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"So," Katara hummed, sounding like she cared a lot but was trying to conceal it, "Sokka, huh?"

"...What about him? Did he do something dumb?"

"Obviously. When isn't he doing something dumb? But no, not in particular."

"Oh, then what about him?"

Katara shrugged. "I mean... he's kinda cute, don't you think?"

Zuko felt disturbed. "He's your brother. Are you... into Sokka? I'm not judging you, but I'm sure we can find a therapist to, uh, help you get over that."

"Ew!" Katara shouted, as if she wasn't the one who brought it up, "Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross! No! What the fuck? Ew!"

"You're the one who brought it up! I'm just trying to help you!"

"Ugh! Ew! Gross! No! I meant you and Sokka!" Katara said, holding her hands up to her forehead as if to ward away a headache, "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Ew, I hate that so much."

"Oh. Uh... what about Sokka and I?"

"I can't even anymore. Just... let's cook now and talk later. I'm worried if I open my mouth I'll throw up into the stew."