Edit: I appreciate the love guys but please stop commenting ways you would kill someone! It's well intentioned but makes me uncomfortable and will be deleted. Thanks so much!
________________________________

Zuko ran down the alleyway, chasing the man running from him. He wasn't going to get away from him this time.

This man had raped, murdered, and hurt many people, and it was time for him to go down. The police hadn't done anything because the man was rich, white, and well off, but Zuko couldn't be bribed or manipulated. He was the Blue Spirit, a vigilante who made sure no one escaped justice.

He liked what he did. Some days, it was the only thing he liked about himself. But it was getting increasingly difficult for him to sneak out at night without his roommate noticing.

Zuko quietly locked the door to his apartment. He heard a throat clear behind him. Luckily, Zuko's mask was in his bag, so Sokka couldn't see his secret.

"Why are you out so late, again?" Sokka asked.

"None of your business." Zuko replied.

"Um, I think it is my business. If you insist on waking me up at all hours of the night, I demand to know why."

"Let it go, Sokka," Zuko said, pushing past his roommate and going into his room. He hid his mask in his closet, then took a shower and went to bed.

"You hear about Jason Smith?" Sokka asked the next morning, eating his cereal at his and Zuko's table. He was reading the news on his phone.

"The murderer/rapist, right? What about him?" Zuko asked.

"He was killed last night. Police suspect the Blue Spirit."

Zuko feigned surprise. "The Blue Spirit? Again? They haven't been caught yet?"

"No. Police place time of death between midnight and three am. That's about the time you were out. It's good they didn't kill you."

Zuko laughed. "Yeah. Don't see why they would kill me, though. I'm not too bad of a person."

"Your dad...."

"I'm not responsible for my father's actions. He and I are different people. Very different people."

Sokka held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever, man. I'm just glad you're okay."

Zuko smiled. "Thanks, Sokka. That means a lot."

Zuko snuck out as the Blue Spirit again a few weeks later. Sokka was asleep when Zuko left, so he didn't need to worry about Sokka getting suspicious, so long as he was quiet.

The night itself wasn't very eventful, just your average eye-for-an-eye justice stuff.

He got back home at about one am. Sokka was still asleep, not suspecting a thing. Zuko hid his mask and went to sleep.

Zuko groaned as his phone rang. All he wanted to do was to was to eat lunch in peace. He answered it, "What?"

"Wow. Real pleasant greeting." It was Sokka. "You have any glue?"

"What? Why do you need glue?"

"For making oatmeal."

"What?"

"Nah, man. I'm doing a project for my advanced psychology class."

"Yeah, I have glue."

"Cool. Can I use some?"

"Sure. I'll be home in about an hour, I'll get it for you, then."

"I need it now, though."

"Sorry, man. I'm in the middle of lunch, and I'm fairly far away from the apartment."

"Can't I just go into your room and get it? I know you don't like people in your room, but-"

"No! Absolutely not. Do not go into my room. It's my private space. Plus, it's a mess. You wouldn't be able to find the glue with all the chaos."

"Fine. I won't do it."

"Good. I'll be there in an hour."

Zuko put another bite of pasta into his mouth. Sokka wouldn't lie and go into his room, would he? No. Sokka was trustworthy, and a good roommate.

"Does this make me a bad roommate?" Sokka asked himself as he stood outside Zuko's bedroom door, hand on the silver colored doorknob. After a moment, he shrugged and opened the door.

Zuko's room wasn't messy at all. Sure, there were a few food wrappers here and there and an empty coffee cup or two, but other than that, the room was clean.

Sokka laughed. "This is his idea of messy?"

He looked around the room. "Hhmmm. If I were glue, where would I be?"

Sokka looked in Zuko's dresser. Nothing but clothes and shoes. In his bookshelf there were only books. There was nothing under his bed. The shelf above his bed didn't have any glue on it, and there was none in his desk. All that was left to do was to look in his closet.

Sokka looked in the closet, rummaging through clothes and papers and empty bottles and paper clips. Now this was messy. Sokka checked his watch. Zuko should be home in 10 minutes. Then he could find the glue. But until then, Sokka would continue to search.

Sokka didn't find the glue, but he found something much weirder. There was a carved out hole in the floor, covered with stuff. In the hole was an ornate blue mask. It looked weirdly familiar, but Sokka couldn't place where he had seen it. But it gave him a bad feeling, so he put it up.

Sokka heard the font door opening and quickly got out of Zuko's room. He was sure he hadn't left any evidence of being in there.

"Okay, Sokka." Zuko said, hanging up his keys. "I'll go get the glue."

Sokka stayed up late that night, working on his project. Zuko didn't know this.

"Where are you going?" Sokka asked.

"Um," Zuko said uncomfortably, "On a walk. To the tea shoppe. I'm craving some chamomile."

Sokka squinted at him. "At eleven at night?"

Zuko shrugged. "Tea cravings hit at the weirdest of times. What can I say?"

Sokka looked suspicious, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth questioning. "Whatever, man. You want to go out to your weird midnight cult sacrifices or whatever, fine. But be quiet when you come back in. I need my sleep. You can't maintain skin this good without a proper sleeping schedule."

"Will do. I'll be quiet when I get back."

The killing itself was basic. Nothing to think too much about. Millionaire guy tortured and kills a bunch of kids, Zuko finds him, and shoots him in the head. A swift, virtually painless death. Just the way he liked it.

After Zuko had killed the person he was looking for, he was running away when he heard someone shout.

"Help! It's the Blue Spirit!"

Zuko looked back at the woman who had yelled. She looked terrified. She held up her phone to call the police. Zuko ran as fast as he could away from the crime scene.

When he was sure he hadn't been followed, he took off his mask. His face was sweaty from running, as were his hands. Zuko took a deep breath. He opened the door to the apartment and went inside. It seemed like Sokka was asleep.

Zuko sat at the table with his breakfast.

"So, how was your tea last night?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, yeah. Tea was good. Tasted like hay. It made my tongue swell up and my throat scratchy, so I should probably get that checked out." Zuko responded.

"Cool. Hey, did you read the news this morning?"

"No, why?" Zuko asked, putting cereal into his mouth.

"Someone got a picture of the Blue Spirit the other night." Sokka held out the phone with the picture on it.

"Man, that guy looks like bad news." Zuko said.

"You know what's funny, though? I've seen that mask before."

Zuko started to feel as if he'd rather be anywhere but there. "Oh?"

"Yeah. You have that mask."

"Crazy world." Zuko shrugged. "It must be a popular mask. I got it a few Halloweens ago at Party City. Haven't really worn it much, but I figure I should have at least one costume on hand in case I ever get invited to another costume party or something."

"Hm. Then why was it hidden?"

"It wasn't hidden. My closet's just a mess- Wait, how did you even know I had that mask? Did- did you go in my room?"

Now Sokka was the one who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. "Um... no?"

Zuko gave him a death glare.

"Okay, fine, I did, but only because I needed glue! I'm sorry."

Zuko took a deep breath. He stood up and walked angrily into his room. He closed the door, and didn't come out for many days.

"Katara, I really messed up." Sokka said on the phone.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating." Katara said. "What happened?"

"Okay, so, you know my roommate? Zuko?"

"Yeah. Did he do something to you? I've never liked him."

"No, he didn't do anything. He's a good guy. Plus, he's super hot- er, hotpocket. Yeah. Hotpocket."

"He's hotpocket? What does that mean?"

"Irrelevant. So, I went snooping in his room-"

"Sokka!"

"I know, I know. I needed something of his, and I found out that he has a really big secret."

"What secret?"

"I- I can't tell you. But it's fine. But also, if my body turns up dead somewhere, it's Zuko."

"What the hell? What's the big secret?"

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

"I'm getting scared, Sokka. Fine, I won't tell anyone."

"Zuko is a vigilante. He's the Blue Spirit."

There was silence on Katara's end. "This isn't something to joke about, Sokka."

"I'm not joking. I found his mask when I was snooping. Now he's not talking to me. I'm worried I made him upset."

"You found out your roommate's a serial killer and you're worried you made him sad?"

"He's a good person. He had a really rough life. Plus, he only kills incredibly bad people. That's cool."

"No, dummy, that's not cool. Let the police handle this."

"I don't want to be a bad roommate, and I don't want Zuko to get into trouble."

"He. Is. A. Murderer."

"Who only kills other murderers. He's doing the world a service."

Katara took a deep breath. "Okay. I won't tell the police. But you need to fix this. If you like Zuko, tell him."

"Of course I like Zuko, he's my friend. He knows I like him."

"No, Sokka. You like like him. I can tell. Tell him how you feel. If he doesn't feel the same way, you can always turn him over to the cops."

"I'm not going to do that."

"Yeah, that's 'cause you like him."

Sokka was quiet for a moment. "How do I go about telling him? I've never had a boyfriend before. I've barely even had a successful relationship. I mean, my first girlfriend texted me telling me she was the moon now. I mean, what even?"

"Just ask him if he wants to get coffee. Or dinner. Or to get a drink. It doesn't matter."

"What if he kills me?"

"He's a vigilante, not a murderer."

"But you literally just said... never mind." Sokka said, not wanting to get into an argument about how quickly Katara's opinions on Zuko had changed, "Okay, okay. I'll ask him out."

"Text me after you ask him." Katara hung up.

Sokka took a deep breath and knocked on Zuko's bedroom door.  "Hey, Zuko. Can we talk?"

No response.

"Wait, Zuko, are you even in there? I'm coming in."

Sokka tried to open the door. It was locked. Sokka took out a penny and put it in the slot of the door and twisted. The door came open. Zuko wasn't there. He must've snuck out when Sokka was asleep or something.

Sokka sighed. Where could he be? Sokka thought back to the last few days. The tea shoppe! He was pretty sure Zuko's uncle worked at the tea shoppe. That's where Sokka would look first.

Sokka opened the door to the tea shoppe and heard the friendly greeting of Zuko's uncle.

"Oh, hello, Sokka. How have you been?"

"I've been good, Iroh. Have you seen Zuko around? I, um, I want to ask him something."

Iroh nodded knowingly. "It's hard for Zuko to love because of his relationship with our family, but once you've earned his trust, he has a heart of gold."

Sokka sighed sadly. "I'm worried that I broke his trust. I feel awful about it. I- I found out a secret about him, and now he's been avoiding me. I'm worried I messed everything up. You're wise. What should I do?"

Iroh gave Sokka a warm smile. "I know exactly what you're talking about. I was in a bind similar to yours once. When I was fighting in the war, I learned a terrible secret about my friend. He never spoke to me again, and I didn't reach out to him, lest I forfeit my pride. Now I wish that I had mended this relationship while I still had the chance."

Iroh paused, then continued speaking again, smile gone. "Go to Zuko. Tell him how you feel about him. He will understand. He's upstairs, first room on the left."

Iroh handed Sokka the key. Sokka looked at the curtain that separated the staircase from the shop. He looked back to Iroh and smiled. "Thanks, Iroh. I will."

Sokka went up the stairs. "He said first door on the right, right?"

Sokka murmured. He opened the door. The room was full of old vending machines. "Hmm. Wrong room, I guess."

Sokka opened the correct door and saw Zuko sitting at a desk, writing. Sokka walked up behind him and looked at what he was writing.

Stop reading over my shoulder, Sokka.

"What?" Sokka said. "How did you know I was reading over your shoulder?"

"To be honest, I didn't. I've had this written down for days because I knew you would find me at some point."

"Hm. So, what's up?"

Zuko turned around to look at him. "What's up? Um, not much, really. My roommate found out that I'm a vigilante because he was snooping through my stuff, and I just found out I'm allergic to chamomile. But other than that, nothing much."

"Oh, that's why it made your tongue swell up? Makes sense." Sokka nodded. "And about the other thing, I didn't tell anyone. Well, I told my sister. But she didn't tell anyone."

Zuko looked stoic and serious, his face showing no sign of emotion.

"And, uh, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

Sokka took a deep breath. "So, I know you're my roommate, and I don't want things to be awkward, but I have really strong feelings, and I want to stop avoiding them. And I talked to your uncle, and he said you probably felt the same way. Maybe? He's pretty mysterious. I'm never really sure what he means. But I think I understand what he meant. Anyway, I need to ask you, um, if-"

"Yes, Sokka. I would love to go out with you." Zuko said, smiling.

"Wait, really? Great!"

"Yeah. How about later this evening? We could go to dinner or something."

Sokka beamed. "Sounds good."

AN/// Zuko said fuck cops and he was right.