New Student (Zukka fic)

Part Sixteen

Suki lay horizontally across an armchair, scrolling on her phone. "Hey, Yue, what should we have for dinner?"

Her girlfriend's blue eyes lit up like the night sky. "Oh! I found this amazing recipe online, and I really want to try it out! Want to see?"

With effort, Suki rolled out of her spot and hiked over to the kitchen, looking over Yue's shoulder at her phone. It was a recipe for chicken and dumplings casserole, and her mouth watered. "I like the sound of that." She scrolled down further. "How long does it take to...two hours?"

Yue's eyebrows scrunched together, which was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. "Oops. Guess we're getting fast food."

"Fast sounds nice." Suki pulled out her laptop, and the two of them put in their orders. Yue pecked her on the cheek, and even though it'd happened a hundred times before, she couldn't help but blush.

Another thought came to Suki, one that they'd been dancing around for weeks. She'd asked indirectly once or twice, but the topic always swerved into a different direction. This time, she would be blunt. "Yue..." She twiddled her thumbs. "When are we going to tell your parents about us?"

Yue started, and she turned around to face Suki, her expression anxious. "I...I don't know. I'm still not sure how they'll take it, so I suppose I've been...procrastinating a bit." She walked over and put her hands in Suki's. "I hope you don't think I'm embarrassed about you, I'm not!"

"No, no, I didn't think that!" She put her hands up in surrender. "I just...didn't want them to find out too late and it turns into this big blowout."

Yue raised her hand to her lips, and Suki felt herself about to explode. "It won't, I promise. I'll tell them."

She smiled, and the two of them enjoyed the moment of peace and quiet. Then she realized something. "Hey, isn't it kind of weird that nothing's happened with Sokka and Zuko lately?"

"Yeah, it is kind of odd, isn't it?" Yue chuckled. "Something always seems to be going on with those two, huh?"

"Exactly! I feel like right now there should be some sort of drama or completely unexpected event-"

"SOKKA, SHUT UP! I NEED TO BOIL MY SADNESS AWAY UNTIL I AM THE GOD OF TEA!"

Suki sighed. "There it is."

..................

After yesterday's crying session, Sokka figured that would be the end of it. Zuko would get all of his emotions out, and things would go back to normal. What happened instead is what Sokka could only describe as the tea-pocalypse.

Zuko was bent over yet another kettle, as half-finished teacups lay strewn across the dining table. A couple had tipped over a bit, causing stains on the usually immaculate wood. Zuko still had a bedhead (which was kind of cute, but not the point), and was still wearing his pajamas.

Sokka sidled up behind his roommate. "Hey, hey, Zuko, buddy, pal..." He paused. "Another word for friend! Maybe you should just step away from the kettle...you know, re enter society..."

"Why re-enter the society in which the best tea shop has closed down, when I have all the tea I could ever want at my disposal?" Zuko replied, dramatically waving his hands about and not taking his eyes off the electric kettle.

"Listen, I know this is hard, but there's no need to drink yourself into a tea coma." Sokka squinted at the cluttered dinner table. "You haven't been drinking most of this, actually."

No comment.

"Zuko-"

"SOKKA, SHUT UP! I NEED TO BOIL MY SADNESS AWAY UNTIL I AM THE GOD OF TEA!"