☆ yellow ☆ (zukka AU)

chapter 9

sokka's POV

when i enter the kitchen, i am surprised to lay my eyes on zuko, as it's only 8 am.

"morning, sunshine" i mumble with a raspy voice, as i woke up 5 minutes ago.

he clearly didn't hear me walk in, because he flinches and some flour jumps in the air, covering him in it. what is he doing with flour?

"ugh- hey, sokka" he says and rubs his t-shirt (well, my t-shirt) in attempt to get rid of the flour. "i didn't see you there"

damn, he looks really good in my clothes...

um, where did that thought come from? whatever, i will choose to ignore it for now.

"why are you up so early?" zuko asks me while i pour myself a glass of orange juice.

i shrug and take a sip.

"i was thirsty. what are you doing there?" i point at the bowls scattered around the table, the eggs, sugar and other groceries.

"i wanted to make you guys some pancakes" he starts twirling a lock of hair around his index.

"you don't have to do that. since when are you up?"

"6" he says briefly.

"6!? why? didn't you sleep well?" i ask curiously.

"uhm- i don't usually sleep much, so..."

i scowl and think about how much i enjoy sleeping. how does he even function?

"it's not good for you, you should get proper rest"

he grins a little.

"don't worry about it, sokka" he brushes it off. "so, are you gonna help me make these stupid pancakes or what?"

he has the talent of changing the subject radically when it comes to talking about himself. damn, is he ever gonna open up to me?

"fine" i sigh. "i'll help you cause clearly, you have no idea what you're doing. you can't mix the flour and the oil first, what were you thinking?" i point at the yellow bowl that's in front of him.

i grab it, pour some milk and start mixing everything up.

"i've never made pancakes before, ok? spirits, why do you have to be so judgy?" he rolls his eyes dramatically and tries to mentain a straight face.

he can't do that for more than 3 seconds and soon, we both burst into laughter.

"ok, break those eggs and pour them in here" i instruct him and he complies.

he cracks them so tactless, that some pieces of the egg shells fall into the white and yolk that he was supposed to separate.

"um, zuko- i know egg shells have calcium, but i don't think we should eat them"

he sighs in annoyance.

"dammit, i can't even do this simple task!" he drops the entire egg shell into the bowl and crumbles on the floor.

his hands are smeared with yolk, but he drags them over his face anyway. i take a seat next to him and put my arm around him.

"hey, buddy, it's fine. the first time i cooked anything, i almost burned down the house. i was lucky katara was around and was able to waterbend the fire fast enough"

he puffs, but i can see a faint smile on his face. when i look at him, i start chuckling.

"what? why are you laughing?" zuko asks me and his only brow frowns in confusion.