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The cabin had been Zuko’s idea, and for once it worked out. The guy knew nothing at all about snow so Katara had taken over planning almost immediately, which probably helped. Sokka contributed a list of requirements—his own bedroom with a door that shut, good snowboarding, fast wifi, a big enough kitchen someone could cook real food—which she’d probably tossed in the fire but anyway the place was nice. They’d split the cost of rent and food between the six of them even though he and Aang were the only ones with real jobs, which also put Sokka in a pleasant frame of mind. He’d have pitched in more but it was nice not to be expected. Even Katara’s new roommate had put in her fair share.
That was about where the good news ended.
Sokka gazed across the comfortable living room to where said new roommate was chatting with Toph over a game of mancala. She deftly plucked a stone out from the tray and skipped it into the next bin. She had nice hands with blunt, practical fingernails. Suki worked at the diner with Katara and probably had to keep them short to wipe down tables and stuff. Standing all day must also keep her in shape because wow did she have a shape.
“Sokka? Earth to Sokka?” Katara waved a hand in front of his face and he jumped back into the couch.
“Hey, watch it! What?”
His sister put her hands on her hips. “Your timer is going off.”
“Oh!” Sokka jumped up and hurried to the kitchen. He’d decided to buy fresh chestnuts at the market and roast them himself rather than bringing prepared food like a few of the others had done, and was glad he had. Women liked that. Or, people. People liked that. Ah, who was he kidding?
Sokka grabbed a dish towel, pulled open the oven, and tried to think with the head on top of his shoulders instead of the other one. They had the cabin for the whole week. He’d never survive if he spent the whole time moping after his sister’s ridiculously pretty, fun, engaging, utterly snackable roommate like a creep. They were here to ski and have fun.
With deft hands Sokka slid the tray of roasted chestnuts out of the oven and set it down on top of the iron grates on the stove. The heady scent of the nuts filled the kitchen in a way that reminded him of Gran Gran and being small. Sokka inhaled deeply before turning to grab a clean towel from the drawer to finish steaming the nuts as she’d taught him.
“Wow, those smell amazing.” Sokka spun on his heels to see Suki leaning over his nuts. Her peachy lips split into a grin as she turned her gaze on him. “I’ve never seen anyone make these at home,” she added. “Do you cook a lot?”
“Uh,” said Sokka.
Suki snorted. “Sorry for the battery of questions. I’ll let you work.”
“No! No, it’s fine.” Sokka stepped towards her and covered the steaming chestnuts in the dish towel. “My Gran Gran used to make these around the holidays,” he said. “They’re not that hard. The tricky part is the timing.”
“Hmm,” said Suki. Her brow furrowed cutely. “So what do you do?”
“Well, you start by picking good nuts,” explained Sokka. “You want ones that are fresh and all about the same size so they cook evenly.”
“Yeah, nobody wants oddly-sized nuts,” said Suki.
Sokka bit his lip to keep from choking. “R-right. Um. Yeah. Anyway, then you, uh, wash them. Carefully. Then make a little X in the top and soak them in cold water for a bit.”
Suki made a face. “They don’t shrivel up in the cold?”
Sokka’s cheeks went hot. “No. I mean… no. Um. So you soak them, and then stick them in the oven at 425 for about half an hour. After that, you cover them with a cloth to let them steam. Next up, peeling.”
“Peeling,” Suki repeated. She raised an eyebrow. “Do you need any help? Zuko and Aang are out dealing with the firewood and Toph is finally letting Katara do her hair.”
“Sure,” said Sokka. He took a deep breath and thought nothing ventured, nothing gained. “Be careful though. My nuts are gonna be hot.”
Suki’s face went slack and for a moment Sokka thought he’d blown the whole thing. Then her nose squinched up and she burst out laughing.
“Hey! Is he bothering you in there?” called Katara.
“We’re fine!” Suki shouted. Then, in a lower voice, “I have no doubt I can handle your warm brown nuts just fine.”
Sokka swallowed down a wiggle of nerves and plowed ahead. “Alright, if you say so.” He removed the cloth from the chestnuts and set it aside. “Grab the edges of those Xs and peel off the dark part. Then pop them in the bowl. If you do that I’ll get started on the cinnamon drizzle.”
“Ooh, there’s drizzle on your nuts?”
Sokka groaned and went to get the butter from the fridge. A few minutes later and with plenty of sugar and spice it was ready. All the while he’d made a point not to look at Suki. Not because he didn’t want to, no. Her presence behind him prickled his skin. Rather, he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing her nice hands with practical fingernails manhandling—pun definitely intended—a bunch of big brown chestnuts. He needn’t have worried though. By the time he finally made himself look at the tray there was nothing left there but husks. The bowl beside it gleamed with buttery yellow chestnuts.
“Well that was fun,” said Suki. She flashed Sokka a grin. “Thanks for cutting me in.”
“Any time,” he rasped.
“Good.” Her smile widened, growing mischievous to match the mirth in her eyes. “I do think I need more practice though,” she added, her voice barely above a whisper. “And Katara told me you specifically requested a door that closed.” Her cocky gaze flickered a little. “No pressure though. I just figured it’s cold and you’re cute and keep ogling my butt.”
“I did not —okay, fine, maybe.” Sokka forced himself to take a breath. “But yeah, I’m very, very interested in more nut handling practice.”
Suki snorted out another cute little laugh. “Good.” She threw him a wink. “See you later then.” And with that she trotted back to the living room, shaking her beautiful ass as she went.