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“Right,” Sokka said, standing up. “Guess it’s my turn.”
Aunt Wu smiled. “Right this way.”
Sokka followed her into the next room. He couldn’t wait to see what sort of vague self-fulfilling mumbo-jumbo this fortune teller spouted. The room was undeniably very conducive to chicanery, with low lighting and a crackling, mysterious fire.
“Sit,” Aunt Wu told him. He did so, lounging on the very comfy cushions arranged on the floor. “You’re a skeptic,” she said.
“Oh, wow,” Sokka drawled. “You really are psychic.”
She simply raised an eyebrow.
“Right, let’s get this over with,” Sokka sighed. “What’s in my future?”
“Let me read your palm,” Aunt Wu said. “It will tell us what your love life holds.”
Sokka stuck out his hand, a tad intrigued. What sort of tall tale would she come up with? Or…even more impossibly…what sort of truths would she predict?
Aunt Wu took his hand with surprisingly soft fingers. Her nails were incredibly well manicured. She let out a contemplative hum as one of those nails traced Sokka’s love line.
“There’s tension,” she said. “A push and pull, opposition that becomes harmony.”
Sokka rolled his eyes. Typical vague snake oil—every relationship had its conflicts and tensions. The fire snapped, and a spark landed on Sokka’s hand. He yelped and shook it out of Aunt Wu’s grip. Aunt Wu’s eyes widened in surprise.
“How interesting,” she said. “This is momentous!”
“It’s just a spark,” Sokka grumbled.
Aunt Wu gestured to the low fire. “A fire that small does not spark this far idly.” She took Sokka’s hand again, and examined his love line with feverish focus for a few seconds before proclaiming, “You’re going to marry the Firelord!”
Sokka blinked. “Wait, what?”
As they flew away from the village, Sokka ruminated on Aunt Wu’s prediction. It was bullshit, of course it was. She was just making a prediction to try to cut through his skepticism, hoping by the time it was clear it wouldn’t come true he would have forgotten about it.
“Is the Firelord married?” Sokka asked abruptly.
“I mean, Zuko exists,” Katara pointed out, “so he must’ve been at some point.”
“Hm.”
“Why do you ask?” Katara asked.
“Aunt Wu said I was going to marry the Firelord,” Sokka said.
Aang burst into laughter. “He’s way too old for you! Wow, I’m beginning to think you were right about Aunt Wu.”
“I know, right? As if I’d ever be some sort of sugar baby for that genocidal maniac,” Sokka scoffed.
“And tell your father I’m not interested in having an asshole like you for a son in law!” Sokka yelled at Zuko as they fled on Appa’s back. Katara and Aang both burst into helpless laughter.
“What the FUCK are you talking about?” Zuko yelled back. “Hey, wait, come back! Did you—wHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS WITH MY FATHER!”
“So. Are you going to firebend now?”
“Sokka,” Aang admonished him, “I’m trying to meditate.”
“You’re going to be an amazing firebender. The best in the world! The fire nation won’t stand a chance! You could just take over the palace and rule the place!”
Aang opened an eye to glare at Sokka. “I’ve only been studying with Jeong Jeong for a few hours. I’m not a master yet.” He closed the eye.
Sokka sighed and sat down on the rock next to Aang, kicking his bare feet in the pleasantly warm water.
“Aang. Aang, what if Wu was right?”
“Maybe she is,” Aang said. “I think she’s good at predicting romances! I have high hopes for myself, I gotta say.”
Sokka flopped onto his back, stretching his arms out and basking in the sun. “I hope you’re wrong, but just in case you aren’t, please. For me. Become the Firelord so I can marry someone who doesn’t suck.”
“Hmmm, I don’t know,” Aang hummed. “I still think you could bring out Ozai’s soft side.”
Sokka kicked up a foot to splash Aang.
“Hey!” Aang laughed, quickly abandoning his meditation to get into a splash fight with Sokka.
“You know,” Aang said, completely unprompted as they cooked their fish, “Aunt Wu never said you’d marry Ozai. Maybe it’s a different Firelord.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Toph asked.
Sokka sighed. “Some charlatan fortune teller said I’d marry the Firelord and these two jerks haven’t let it go since.”
“You believed her,” Aang said.
“I did not!” Sokka sputtered. “I don’t! Aunt Wu was full of shit, okay?”
“Who’s the heir to the throne?” Toph asked. “Maybe that’s who you’ll marry.”
“I am not marrying anyone from the fire nation, let alone the Firelord,” Sokka insisted.
“Zuko might be cute,” Katara said, “If it weren’t for the hair.”
“But he’s in exile,” Aang pointed out. “So that leaves…”
“Azula,” Sokka groaned, burying his head in his hands. “You know what, I think I’d rather marry Ozai.”
“So, your uncle was originally going to be the Firelord, huh,” Toph casually. Sokka glared at her, but she was unfazed. Sokka remembered she actually had no idea he was glaring at her, and elbowed her in the ribs.
“Yeah,” Zuko replied, totally oblivious to the glances and snickers shared between Toph, Katara, and Aang. “ But my father stole his birthright from him. He would have been an amazing ruler and broken the cycle of war, I just know it.”
“He’s old,” Sokka mused. “And not really my type.”
Zuko stared back at him, looking baffled. “What?”
“When Aang defeats Ozai, will Iroh become the Firelord?” Sokka asked. “I guess I could do worse. Especially considering Azula is the heir now.”
Zuko glanced at Katara, then at Aang. “What…what is he talking about?” He looked back at Sokka. “Are you planning to marry royalty or something?”
“No,” Sokka replied. “It’s a joke. Well, it’s a joke unless fortune telling is real.”
“A fortune teller said Sokka would marry the Firelord,” Aang supplied helpfully.
Zuko had nothing to say but “huh.”
“Would your sister be a good wife for Sokka?” Toph asked Zuko.
“Uh.” Zuko’s cheeks started to turn red. “No. Don’t marry my sister under any circumstances. You’re way too good for her.”
“Aww, you think I’m too good for your sister,” Sokka crooned. “You’re a flatterer! Katara, look, Zuko’s a flatterer!”
“Don’t you dare date my brother,” Katara threatened.
Zuko turned an even deeper shade of red. “I’m not flirting!” he protested. “I’m saying Sokka is way too hot and too amazing to date my psychopath sister! It’s a pretty low bar!”
“And here I thought what we had was special,” Sokka sighed.
Zuko groaned and flopped backward. “I hate you guys. Is it too late to go back to the Fire Nation?”
Aang laughed at that.
“Maybe Suki will become the Firelord,” Katara offered.
“Not a chance,” Suki replied. “I’m not interested in a desk job.”
“Awww, babe,” Sokka whined. “You’re going to consign me to marrying an old man or a psychopath?”
“If Azula ends up Firelord,” Zuko told him, “I think you’ll have bigger problems than your wedding.”
Sokka waved a hand. “It’s not like the prediction’s gonna come true.”
“Yeah,” Suki said. “It’s just a fun thought experiment.”
“So,” Sokka said. “You’re going off to face your sister.” He clapped a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Good luck, buddy. I can’t imagine having to fight Katara.”
“Y-yeah.” Zuko took a deep breath. “Good news for you, though.” He offered Sokka a smile. “I promise you won’t be marrying Azula.”
Sokka laughed. “Guess I have to get used to Iroh, huh?”
Zuko blushed. “I actually…I just talked to him, and…he’s not going to be the Firelord. He says, if we defeat Ozai and Azula…he says I should be the Firelord.”
Sokka’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn.”
Zuko laughed nervously. “Not that it matters to you. It’s not like you’re actually going to marry the Firelord.” He sounded far sadder than Sokka expected.
“Eh, you never know. Stranger things have happened.”
Zuko’s blush deepened, and Sokka realized he had just flirted. No, wait, he knew that was flirting when he said it, he just hadn’t thought about it. Why was he flirting with his bro? He pushed those thoughts from his mind. He had more important things to worry about.
“So, you’re the Firelord now.”
Zuko sighed and collapsed into the cushions laid out on the floor. “Ceremonies suck,” he groaned. He took the crown out of his hair and pulled his hair free, shaking it loose until it fell messily around his face. He really had no right looking so pretty while exhausted. “Guess we’re getting married now.”
Sokka hummed in agreement. “Wanna set a date? I vote the Northern Water Tribe for the honeymoon. Nothing more romantic than ice!”
Zuko turned over, burying his face in the cushions.
“I hate the cold,” he said. “But I’d go there for you.” He didn’t sound like he was joking. Zuko groaned and grabbed a pillow to press over his head.
“You sound tired,” Sokka said. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Zuko leaned on him all the way to his bedroom. He was cooler than Sokka would expect from a firebender, which was nice in the Fire Nation’s hot weather. Sokka deposited him in his bed, and Zuko quickly snuggled underneath the covers.
“Are you and Suki still together?” Zuko mumbled.
Sokka sighed. “Yeah. For now. But…well, we’ve been talking, and it looks like our lives are going in different directions.” He shrugged. “I guess relationships formed during war aren’t built for peace, huh? Anyway, you don’t need to know that, so. Just, uh. Sleep well, okay?”
Two years later, Zuko was exhausted again.
“You need to go to bed,” Sokka told him.
“I’m fine,” Zuko insisted.
“As your ambassador and future husband,” Sokka insisted, “I must insist you go to bed.”
Zuko violently threw down his pen. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Sokka blinked. “What?”
Zuko threw his hands up. “This whole—the husband charade! This whole joke where you pretend you’re going to marry me.”
“Hey, hey, chill out. I didn’t realize it made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry, man.”
Zuko threw back his chair and started pacing. “I’m not uncomfortable, I just—” he broke off into a noise of frustration. “Do you have any idea what it’s doing to me?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“I’m in love with you,” Zuko stated bluntly. “I have been for years. And I can’t take this anymore. I’m sorry, but I don’t know if our friendship can carry on as it is.”
Sokka remembered a similar conversation on an icy set of stairs. Hopefully, this wouldn’t end with Zuko turning into the sun or something.
“Well, then, I have good news,” Sokka said.
He marched up to Zuko, cradled his face, and kissed him.
At the afterparty, Katara pointed out that Aunt Wu was right all along—she married a powerful bender, Aang followed his heart, and Sokka married the Firelord.
“Maybe there’s something to that whole fortune-telling thing,” she said, and Sokka nearly kicked her out, but then Zuko dragged him back into dancing.
“You know,” Sokka said as they twirled across the floor, “you might never have confessed if I didn’t keep bringing up that prediction.” He grinned. “It was self-fulfilling the whole time! There’s no such thing as fortune telling!”
Zuko sighed fondly and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s right. We choose our own path.”