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When Sokka is five, he wakes up one morning to find a messy star drawn on his arm.
He doesn’t think much of it until he goes to the kitchen for breakfast. His mom sees his arm from where she was standing, cutting up a waffle for Katara, and gasps. “Sokka, did you draw that?”
He knew he wasn’t supposed to use markers by himself and he was scared that he was in trouble. So he shook his head hard. It wasn’t a lie either. He really didn’t think he had drawn it, but he also didn’t know where it came from.
“Hakoda!” His mom calls, and his dad comes rushing into the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” He asks.
His mom gestures to his arm. “Look at this!”
“Did he draw that?” When his wife shakes her head, Hakoda continues, “So he has a soulmate!”
Soulmates weren’t exactly uncommon, people were more likely to have one than not. And Sokka’s own parents were soulmates. Still, not everyone had one so it was always exciting when the confirmation comes.
Sokka however is a little worried why his parents are freaking out over the star. His mom reassures him that they aren’t mad and tells him that it is a good thing. She says it is a sign that there is a person out there that would be very important to him someday.
“Like a best friend?” He asks.
“If you want,” his mom answers. “Or they might be someone you love in the same way that I love your dad.”
He doesn’t totally understand the concept, but he’s excited when his mom helps him draw his own star in reply.
——————
As they grow, their messages change from doodles to actual words, though Sokka does still like to include little drawings.
He learns that his soulmate is a boy who is a year older than he is and that he has a younger sister just like Sokka does. His soulmate lives with his parents and he likes theater and martial arts. They talk about school, their friends, their family and everything in between.
There are rules though, things they can and can’t say to each other or the messages just simply don’t show up. The biggest thing being they can’t share their names or their location as that would be too easy. Whatever magic or higher being was in charge of soulmates apparently wanted to add some spice to the whole thing and make it harder for soulmates to find each other.
But that’s fine with Sokka. He likes having a friend other than his little sister to talk to all the time, even if he doesn’t know his name.
——————
When Sokka is ten, he loses his mom.
She’s killed in a car crash. It’s sudden, unexpected and leaves their family trying to desperately pick up the pieces. Sokka feels the need to step up and be strong for his dad and his sister, to not show them that he’s grieving too.
But his soulmate never makes him feel like he has to do that. He lets Sokka talk about it when he wants to but doesn’t push him when he doesn’t.
It doesn’t bring his mom back, but it does make Sokka feel a little less alone.
——————
When Sokka is eleven, his soulmate also loses his mom.
One night she just packed her bags and left. Sokka didn’t understand how someone could just leave their family like that. Especially their kids.
He knows his soulmate is hurting, so Sokka tries to be there for his soulmate the same way he had been there for him when his mom died. He lets his soulmate talk about his mom and how much it hurt that she would leave him with a father that hates him. Sokka also breaks out some of his best jokes when his soulmate needs the distraction.
One night, His soulmate writes, “I think you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
And Sokka is inclined to agree.
——————
When he’s twelve, Sokka is beginning to feel a little skeptical of the whole soulmates thing. Obviously he knew that his soulmate was a real person, the messages on his skin were hard to deny. He just wasn’t true if he trusted that the universe really knew that this was the person for him. He also resents the fact that he doesn’t get to make the decision for himself. He doesn’t want some person to be destined for him, he wants to make his own choices.
And he’s seen what losing a soulmate did to his father and the pain that it caused him. He’s seen the way his sister searches her skin, hoping that she’ll finally find a message written there, becoming more and more downhearted each time nothing comes.
So, maybe this soulmate business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Unfortunately, Sokka’s soulmate ends up proving him right.
Out of the blue, Sokka gets a message that reads, “I can’t talk to you anymore. I’m sorry.”
And despite any and all efforts to ask what is wrong, or find out why, Sokka never gets a response. He tries for weeks before eventually giving up. There are still things on his arms sometimes that he knows he didn’t put there, but clearly none meant as a message for him.
So maybe he was right about soulmates. All they seem to do is cause pain. Maybe he had been onto something with his desire to make his own choices.
——————
When Sokka is 24, life is good.
He hasn’t talked to his soulmate in 12 years but in that time, his father got remarried to his childhood friend, Bato, and his sister heard from and then met her own soulmate.
His Dad and Bato were coming up on their seventh wedding anniversary this year and Sokka couldn’t have been happier for them. They may not have been soulmates but they were good for each other.
Katara had received her first message around the time she turned fourteen and by sixteen she had already met her soulmate, a boy named Aang. He had waited so long to write because he had been told by the monks he was raised by to wait until he was really ready. The two of them stayed just as friends until a few years ago when they decided to give dating a try. He’d never admit it to them, but Sokka also thought that Aang and Katara were good for each other.
Things were going well for their family in the romance department.
Well, for everyone but Sokka.
It wasn’t as if he was still hung up on the boy who hadn’t talked to him since he was twelve, it was just that nobody he dated had ever really stuck.
And that was fine! He was perfectly content to be single, living with his sister’s soulmate as his roommate. Aang was a great roommate. He was a little messy but always cleaned up and he made some delicious vegetarian cuisine that even Sokka, the self proclaimed meat expert, had to admit was pretty good.
He would appreciate a little less public affection in his apartment between his roommate and sister though.
On one particular morning, He walked into the living room to find his sister and his roommate doing just that. Katara was on Aang’s lap and Sokka didn’t need to see any more than that before he announced, “I’m going to take Appa for a walk and you two better be done with that by the time I get back.” He then grabbed Aang’s dog and walked out the door.
He didn’t usually walk Appa so he wasn’t quite sure where to take him. Luckily, Appa was happy to let him know. They walked for a bit before he started pulling Sokka towards the dog park. And Sokka wanted to be a cool dog uncle so of course he was going to take him to the dog park. He wasn’t a monster.
When they got there, there was only one other guy and his dog in the park. Sokka set Appa free to go play with the other dog, but Appa decided that he was much more interested in the other man.
“Appa, No!” Sokka called, chasing after him.
The man didn’t seem bothered. His face lit up and he started scratching Appa behind the ears. His dog may have started to get jealous because he came over to Sokka for his own scratches. Sokka obliged.
“Sorry about Appa,” Sokka, offered, still petting the man’s dog.
He smiled, “No worries, sorry about Druk. But if it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure you’re his best friend now.”
“There are worse things I could be. I’m Sokka.”
“Zuko.”
The dogs get bored of the human conversation after a bit and run off to play. But Sokka and Zuko keep talking.
Sokka’s really hoping that he’s into guys because this is the easiest conversation he’s had with somebody he just met and he would love to keep doing this.
Sokka’s stomach growls. Zuko clearly notices because he says, “I’m getting pretty hungry too, do you want to go grab breakfast? I know a place that allows dogs.”
“I would love to!” Sokka replies.
And it turns out that Appa’s a pretty good wingman because as Sokka finds out, Zuko is into guys. And he seems to be into Sokka specifically.
They sit at breakfast and talk for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. He only realizes how long it’s been when he gets a text from his sister saying that Aang is worried that Sokka’s kidnapped his dog.
He hates to leave but Sokka gets both Zuko’s number and the promise of another date sometime soon.
Things are looking up for Sokka in the romance department. (And he probably owes Appa all the dog biscuits he can eat)
——————
Three months into their relationship, Sokka and Zuko rival Aang and Katara in terms of affection in the apartment. Sokka can’t help it, he just likes him so much. (Loves probably, but they haven’t said that yet.)
And Aang complains constantly. Both about Sokka being a hypocrite about kissing and cuddling in the apartment and also about how often Sokka steals his dog to take him on walks with Zuko and Druk.
Appa however, doesn’t seem to mind the extra walks.
——————
Six Months in, Sokka finally tells Zuko he loves him. (It happens because Zuko makes him dinner and he just can’t hold back anymore. In his defense, they were really good noodles.)
After Sokka blurts it out, Zuko almost drops his bowl on the ground in surprise before he’s grinning and telling Sokka he loves him too.
The noodles are forgotten as they decide this time would be better spent wrapped up in each other’s arms, kissing each other like their lives depend on it.
The noodles are pretty good gold anyway.
——————
Eight months in, Sokka finally tells Zuko about his soulmate. And in return, Zuko tells Sokka about his.
Sokka talks about the boy who wrote him messages for seven years, helped him get through the death of his mom, and became his best friend before the messages just stopped. But he tells Zuko of his desire to choose his own partner, soulmate or not.
Zuko tells him that his father never approved of the idea of soulmates since he didn’t have one of his own. He tells Sokka that his mom eventually found her soulmate and finally left his father. Unfortunately, that also meant her leaving Zuko with a father who never liked him. And after he found out that Zuko’s soulmate was a boy, he ensured that he wouldn’t send him any more messages by teaching him a very painful and permanent lesson. He did end up living with his uncle for the rest of his teenage years, but he could never get himself to reach out to his soulmate again. Every time he tried, he just heard his father’s voice in his head telling him that it was wrong and threatening to do something worse.
At that point, Sokka knows he doesn't want to hear anymore. And if he did, he’d probably hunt down Zuko’s father and kill him. A number of years ago, Sokka had decided that soulmates brought nothing but pain, but anything that he or his family had experienced had nothing on the pain soulmates had brought on Zuko.
“Well, who even needs soulmates anyway?” Sokka asks, “I think what we have going on is pretty special. And besides, I think even if I still talked to my soulmate, I’d still choose you.”
“I’d choose you too,” Zuko says, and he leans over to kiss Sokka.
——————
Fourteen months in, Katara and Aang decide they want to live together.
So Sokka and Zuko decide they’ll do the same.
They spend a Saturday moving all of Sokka’s stuff from his apartment to Zuko’s. It’s hard work but getting to live together is worth it.
Their first night officially living together, Sokka spends the night boiling hot between his boyfriend clinging to his side and Druk laying on his feet.
But he’s truly never been happier. (Or sweatier.)
——————
A year and six months in, Sokka decides he wants to spend the rest of his life with Zuko.
There’s no big moment of realization, they’re just having a quiet morning, each with their own cup of coffee, as they do separate things together in companionable silence. Sokka realizes that he wants to do this every morning, forever.
It’s a big decision, and it should be terrifying, but Sokka’s never been so sure of anything in his life.
He wants to marry Zuko.
When he tells Katara this over the phone later that day she squeals. “That’s so exciting, Sokka! How are you going to ask him? Can I be your maid of honor? If I’m not the maid of honor I’ll kill you.”
“Ok first of all, chill. I literally just decided this. Also you can’t be the maid of honor if he says no.”
Katara scoffs. “He won’t say no, he’s crazy about you.”
“Okay, but that’s not even why I brought it up. Don’t judge me here, but I’ve been thinking about my soulmate lately.”
“Uh oh.”
“No, no not like that,” Sokka rushes to clarify, “I love Zuko, but I just wish I had some closure. And I wish that for Zuko too, but I don’t know what he’ll think if all of a sudden I say I want to talk to my soulmate again. I don’t want him to think he’s not enough for me, because he’s more than I deserve.”
Katara sighs, “Look, I can’t say, because I’m not Zuko, but I think if Aang wasn’t my soulmate, I’d want him to talk to me. Wouldn’t you want Zuko to do the same?”
Sokka can’t argue with that. So he decides to talk to Zuko.
They’re on the couch one night, enjoying a nice takeout dinner, when Sokka brings it up.
“So, uh, I’ve been thinking about reaching out to my soulmate,” Sokka says.
Zuko freezes and Sokka quickly goes to reassure him. “Not to like, date him or anything, I just want to see how he is after all these years. And I think that we both deserve some closure.”
Zuko is quiet for a moment before he says, “...I’ve actually been thinking about doing the same thing.”
“Really?”
He nods, “I feel like he deserves an explanation at least. I’m sure he hates me for essentially ghosting him for several years.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. I mean, I don’t hate my soulmate even though he kind of did the same thing,” Sokka says
Zuko sighs. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll have to think about it some more. But I think you should reach out to yours if that’s what you want to do.”
Sokka considers for a moment and then makes a decision. “Yeah, I think I will. Do you have a pen?”
“Oh, you’re going to do it now?”
“Yeah, why not? No time like the present, right? What should I write?”
Zuko grabs a pen from the table beside the couch and hands it to Sokka. “You could start with hello?”
“Wow what would I do without your infinite wisdom? I’ll go with ‘Hi” and we’ll see if I get a response.” He owes just that, pulling up his sleeve and writing the greeting on the inside of his forearm.
It’s a little anticlimactic. He hadn’t been expecting something major to happen, but looking at his arm and the two letters he wrote, it seems stupid that it took him so long to do something this simple.
The longer he stares at his arm without a response appearing tells him exactly why he hadn’t done this before. The stress of waiting for a response that may never come might just drive him nuts.
Sokka turns back to Zuko, hoping that he’ll be able to distract him from the stress of waiting, but he finds Zuko staring straight ahead, lost in thought and chewing on his lip.
“You okay?” Sokka asks.
Zuko shakes himself out of his trance and looks up at Sokka. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine… uh, actually… can I have the pen now?”
Sokka grins. Looks like he found his distraction. He hands him the pen and hopes that maybe Zuko will have better luck and get a response immediately.
Zuko twirls the pen in between his fingers. “What do you say to someone who you haven’t talked to in probably 13 years?”
“You could start with Hello,” Sokka says, echoing what Zuko had told him earlier.
“I can do hello,” he says, sounding more like he’s trying to psych himself up than anything else.
Zuko takes a deep breath before pulling up his sleeve to write his message. But the ink he finds already there makes him gasp and drop the pen.
Sokka looks down at Zuko’s arm at the sound of his gasp, then he looks at his own arm, then back to Zuko’s.
Yep. That’s definitely Sokka’s writing staring back at him from Zuko’s arm.
Sokka picks up the pen and reaches down to draw a line on Zuko’s arm which he then watches appear on his own skin.
“Holy shit!” Sokka says. He looks back over to Zuko, who appears to not have moved since he saw the writing on his arm. “Zuko?”
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers.
“Sorry? For what?”
Zuko grimaced. “Sorry that I stopped talking to you. Sorry that you’re stuck with someone like me for a soulmate, I don’t know. I’m just sorry. I can leave if you want.”
“Why would I want that?” Sokka is genuinely confused. It’s definitely not what he expected but he can’t say that he’s upset by this new development. But maybe Zuko is?
“Because,” Zuko exclaimed, “You deserve a better soulmate than me!”
Sokka is taken aback. “What? Zuko, you know how I feel about you. Us being soulmates changes nothing! I chose to date you. Screw what the universe, or the spirits, or whoever, says. I love you. And if I had to do it all again, I’d still choose you, soulmates or not. This doesn’t change the way I feel.” And it doesn’t. They may be soulmates but Sokka doesn’t think that’s what makes them right for each other. They were great together before this and they’ll continue to be great after this. It changes nothing for Sokka and he hopes that Zuko feels the same.
“Are you sure?” Zuko asks. “I thought for sure I had blown it with my soulmate and then I figured this meant I’d blown it with you too. Are you sure you don’t hate me?”
Sokka grabs his hand. “I’m absolutely sure. You’re stuck with me for as long as you want me for. The man you are now is so different from who you were at 13. And I’m so lucky to be the one who gets to love you now.”
Zuko leans forward and presses their lips together and suddenly Sokka’s feeling very brave.
“I was going to wait to do this but it feels like as good a time as any…” Sokka trails off as he grabs the pen again, uncapping it with his teeth, and moving to write on his arm once again.
Zuko looks down at his own arms to find the words, “Will you marry me?” written there.
His eyes widen. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely,” Sokka says,”I was going to plan something better but I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you if you’ll have me.”
“Yes,” Zuko says, “Absolutely, yes!”
And Sokka can’t contain his grin as he pulls Zuko back in for another kiss.
——————
When Sokka is 27 and two years and three months into his relationship with Zuko, he marries his soulmate.
He still doesn’t know if he believes in the whole soulmates chosen by the universe thing, but he knows without a doubt that Zuko is his soulmate by choice. Not because of some destiny or fate, but because they wake up every morning and choose each other.
And Sokka wouldn’t want it any other way.