#the captions are asking him if his heart is okay (i think)

[mycomfortblanket]

Publicist Set Up

Chapter One

Sokka is lying in bed scrolling through Instagram when a message request notification bar appears at the top of his screen. Not thinking too much of it, he hits the bar and it immediately takes him to the message.

From: KateLoftinFireStudios 9:46 pm Hi, my name is Kate, I am Zuko Sozin's Social Media Publicist and Manager. I noticed that you've commented a few times on his posts and was wondering if you would be interested in a Zoom Meet and Greet with him..

Sokka rolls his eyes. Another spam message, although this one seems more realistic, is probably an actual person messaging him and then will somehow manage to get his social secruity number from some special encryption bullshit. But still, it's always fun to mess with these people and see how far they are willing to sell their lies.

From: Sokkas_B00merang 9:48 pm Oh, Zuko's publicist, huh?

From: KateLoftinFireStudios 9:48 pm Yeah, I know, there are a lot of scammers out there, but this is a legitimate offer. It's completely free, you would just have to log onto a Zoom meeting after I set up the times between you two.

Sokka furrows his brow. He's never had a scammer openly admit to there being other scammers on the internet, nor them saying 'completely free'. Usually, they'll throw in a 'small payment' or something along those lines.

From: Sokkas_B00merang 9:50 pm Is there any way for me to know you're real?

From: KateLoftinFireStudios 9:51 pm Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I usually lead with that. Yes, here is my card, I blacked out my phone number for obvious reasons. If you would like, you can request to follow me on Instagram and you can see some personal photos I have with him.

The picture that comes in is crystal clear and it's what she says it is: a business card. Sokka clicks on the photo so that it comes up bigger and he inspects the card. There's her name, and underneath it says Social Media Specialist and Publicist, the scribble of what looks like a Snapchat coloring over the phone number and email.

Okay, this shit is weird and actually kind of real looking. Before he actually starts to get his hopes up, Sokka goes to Kate's profile and hits the Request to Follow button, and within thirty seconds, his request is approved and he is able to go to her page.

The majority of the pictures are of her and several of her at the pool drinking some frozen alcoholic drink. But, every so often, there's a picture with someone famous. There's that girl from that K-Pop group he hears so much about, or that actor from the newest James Bond movie, and a little further down, is Zuko. The caption reads Great night with great company. He clicks the photo and the top comment is from Zuko's official account. It's just a heart, but still, this shit is weirdly realistic.

He goes back to the messages,

From: Sokkas_B00merang 10:02 pm Okay, I'll give you this, your stuff looks legit. Just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for you to ask me to input my credit card number.

From: KateLoftinFireStudios 10:03 pm Lol no, nothing of that sort. I just need to know when you are free within the next two weeks so I can get a meeting set up between you two.

~~~

Even though Sokka still has a sliver of a doubt about this whole thing, he is also having that rush of excitement at possibly meeting a celebrity. But not just any celebrity, the hottest model that Sokka has ever had the privilege of masterbating to. He started appearing in magazines a little bit before the pandemic, and once everyone was confinded indoors, his image seemed to be everywhere.

Sokka has a few magazines that Zuko is featured in scattered about in his apartment, and even though the majority of the time, he is fully clothed, there is that random picture of him in underwear or swimsuit. His lean body has the perfect amount of wiry muscles and his abs are defined but not overly in your face. His scar, although Sokka is sure was incredibly painful, gives the man a sense of mystery and ruggedness.

When it's finally time for the meeting, Sokka pulls out his old laptop from the back of his closet and powers it on. He'd rather be safe than sorry just in case it is actually spam and they give his computer some sort of virus. He has it set up on his coffee table and with him on the floor, his back pressed against the couch.

He's still waiting in the Zoom calls 'lobby' waiting for the host- or Zuko- to start the meeting. Sokka checks his reflection in the little square that shows his picture and he quickly reaches up and adjusts his hair and checks for eye boogies one more time.

The computer makes a sound, letting him know that someone has started the chat and his heart freezes for about .5 seconds as the screen changes. The person he's supposed to be chatting with still doesn't have their camera on so he can't see if it's actually going to be The Zuko or some ramdom guy from a different country trying to steal his identity.

"Bloody hell, you would think I would know how to do this by now," a woman with a British accent says. "Sokka- am I pronouncing your name right?"

"Uh..." he hesitates, but nods his head. "Yeah. You pronounced it right."

"Great, this is Kate," the British woman says. "Zuko is in the other room, said something about his shirt. I can't seem to understand why- Ah!" the camera finally comes on, "There we go!" and a beautiful woman comes into view. She's sitting in what appears to be a kitchen; there's a stove and the edge of a stainless steel fridge behind her. The breath is actually sucked out of him. That's the lady that was in the Instagram posts... which means...

"Is that him?" a raspy voice sounds from off-camera and Sokka's eyes widen. He would recognize that voice anywhere. From all the interviews that Sokka has watched, he would be able to pick this man's voice out of a lineup any day. Kate glances to the right of the screen and gives a small nod and a smile.

"Okay, Sokka. So the way this works, you and Zuko get to chat for about thirty minutes before it automatically kicks both of you out. For legal reasons, Zuko won't disclose any personal information like where he is, phone number, or things of that sort and you also don't have to disclose any information that you don't want to. Sound good?"

Sokka can't even really bring himself to say anything, but just nods, his eyes still as big as dinner plates.

"Great, well here he is." Kate turns to Zuko who is still offscreen, "I'm going to be down the hall in the office, I'll come back a few minutes before the time is u p to give you a warning, okay?" She turns back to Sokka, "Bye, Sokka. It was great chatting with you!" She walks off the screen and a tall figure takes her place.

If it's even possible, the breath is sucked out of Sokka again at the fact that Zuko fucking Sozin, the most beautiful model his eyes have ever laid upon, drops down into the chair in front of the camera.

"Oh my god," Sokka whispers.

"What?" Zuko asks, his brow furrowing.

"I didn't actually think- I mean... you're real!" Sokka says, his voice cracking slightly.

Zuko huffs out an awkward laugh, "Yeah, and you're real, I mean, of course, you'd be real. I just didn't believe Kate when she told me about the Zoom meeting because, I mean, who does this sort of thing? I- I don't mean that I don't want to talk with you, I just- I'm totally new to all of this-" he cuts himself off, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

Sokka cant' help the smile that comes onto his face. God, this guy is cute. In the magazines, he just radiates confidence and sex appeal, but in real life, he is so painfully awkward that it's cute. "You don't talk to fans often?" Sokka asks, deciding to help him out a little.

"I wouldn't necessarily say I have fans..." Zuko mumbles, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "I mean, sure, there are people who like me, but fans- I think that's being a little generous."

"Nah, man. I'm definitely a fan," Sokka gives him a charming smile and Zuko gives him a small one back. "You say you're new to this, but I've been seeing you in magazines and stuff for years now, since before the pandemic."

"Oh, yeah, no. I didn't mean new to the modeling thing, I meant new to the talking to people who... like me?" he finishes awkwardly with a shrug.

Sokka can't help but snort a laugh out through his nose, "I'm finding that a little hard to believe that you- mister beautiful famous model man- is nervous talking to me, a guy who ids barely surviving working at his dad's mechanic shop."

"I don't know about the beautiful part," Zuko grumbles and looks down, his blush deepening just a little and starting to spread down his neck. Sokka can just barely see his fingers picking at something on the table he is at. This is the second time he has been self-deprecating and Sokka can tell he's not doing it in a way of fishing for compliments, but rather, he genuinely believes what he is saying. He also notices how Zuko didn't deny the fact that he is nervous talking to him, but rather, denied that he is pretty.

"Well, what made your publicist choose me for you to talk to?" he asks curiously. Sokka does not expect the full-on bright red blush that overtakes Zuko's cheeks even more and goes down his neck, disappearing into his shirt. His eyes go wide and he quickly looks off-screen and then back at Sokka, trying to stammer out a response. There's something about making Zuko blush with every other question that is really getting to Sokka. "What?" he asks, his mouth quirking up into a smile as he tries fighting off his own blush.

"It was random, Kate just pulled someone from the comments and- set it up," he doesn't look at Sokka when he says this so he knows that Zuko is partially lying, but he won't call him out on it... yet.

"Ah, well, what comment did I leave that made her click on me?" Sokka thought this was an innocent enough question, but the way Zuko's blush deepens, he can only guess. Actually... he doesn't even need to guess, he knows what comment it was. "Oh... yeah, I know which one, don't say that out loud, uh..." Sokka starts. In his defense, he was incredibly stoned when he posted that comment to Zuko's Instagram account.

The picture in question was of Zuko lying on the edge of a pool, his drenched white shirt pulled up to expose his stomach. There were artfully placed droplets of water scattered about on his face and the way the sunlight- or artificial light, whatever- brought out his light brown eyes, making them look like dripping honey.

The comment that Sokka had left isn't exactly something he is proud of and to be honest, he completely forgot about until now. What I would do to have this man underneath me isn't exactly something that screams 'strike up a conversation with me'.

His ex, Suki, had beat manners into him and how awful it is to degrade women by talking like that, and of course, the sentiment extended to men. But, Sokka was never very good at keeping his mouth in check while under the influence, so he knows what he said wasn't exactly 'chivalrous'.

Zuko finally looks back up at the camera and gives a small laugh at Sokka's sudden awkwardness, "Now who is the one that's nervous?"

Sokka snorts, not expecting the joke to come from him, "Oh, he's got jokes?" he asks through his laughter. It's weird how easy it is talking to Zuko, they're talking like they're both normal people instead of half the party being incredibly famous and the other half being incredibly not famous.

Zuko's smile brightens just a little and he visibly seems to loosen up the longer they talk. They start poking fun at one another as if they've been friends for years. It's only when he hears the familiar British accent off-camera that he knows their thirty minutes are coming to a close.

"it was really great talking with you, Sokka," Zuko says, his voice lowering slightly and making a warmth settle in Sokka's belly. God, the way his name sounds on this man's lips.

He gulps at the same time he tries to say, "Yeah-" he coughs a little, clearing his throat, "Yeah, I can't believe I actually got to meet you, it's unreal. You're unreal."

Zuko laughs a little, "I'm really glad we met, hopefully we'll talk again soon."

Sokka's eyes widen, "Wait, what do you mean-" but the Zoom call ends before he can even ask what Zuko means by Hopefully we'll talk again soon. How would they talk soon? There's no chance of them meeting in public, mostly because he doesn't even know where Zuko lives, but also because, what is the fucking chance that he would meet a celebrity when the only places he go4es to are the coffee house down the street, work, and the community college a town over?

He stares at the Zoom home page for a few minutes longer, trying to process the whole encounter. At one point, he thinks they were flirting, but he couldn't be sure, because, like, why the fuck would a fine-ass model flirt with him?

Shaking his head slightly, sure that he will wake up in a few minutes from some coma that he's been in, he stands up from the coffee table, scooping his phone into his hand, and starts down the hallway towards his bedroom.

He flicks on the light when he gets two notifications, one after the other, from Instagram. Opening his phone and navigating to the app, a smile breaks across his face.

Zuko.Sozin followed you

A new message from Zuko.Sozin 7:48 pm And yeah, I'd like to be underneath you, too.

Read the rest of the series on ArchiveofOurOwn.com