hakoda is the first one to know that sokka is bisexual. it’s not that hard to figure out. he has posters of shirtless wrestlers on his walls, his gaze lingers on pretty people of both genders, and he’s very obviously infatuated with his best friend. of course, hakoda doesn’t say anything once it hits him, wanting to give his son the space to come out when he’s ready, but it doesn’t happen.
days turn into weeks turn into months and eventually, hakoda tries to nudge him in the right direction. he uses gender neutral pronouns in regard to sokka’s future s/o and blatantly states that he’s accepting among other things, just to make sure that sokka’s not staying in the closet because he doesn’t think his family will love him anymore. but then, after an unexpected comment one night, it hits him.
sokka doesn’t realize he’s into guys.
it’s no secret that sokka can sometimes be very oblivious, so hakoda decides to play matchmaker. he encourages sokka to spend more time with zuko, invites him over for dinner, gives them cash to go out and do things, and it seems to work. sokka has to be realizing something, because he’s suddenly being really flirty and awkward around zuko the way he used to do when he liked yue.
finally, the day comes that sokka sits down and asks to talk to his dad. hakoda complies immediately, and talks through everything with sokka, helping him come to terms with the fact that he’s into guys. sokka explains that he’s still figuring it out and he’s a little afraid of his feelings, but hakoda walks him through it and promises that whatever happens, it’ll be okay. there’s just one problem.
when he was explaining how he realized he was into zuko, sokka detailed exactly what he felt, and how their dynamic changed when they started spending more time together. hakoda should have been listening to what sokka was saying, and joking about how he kind of knew all along, but he couldn’t. he was in no place to make fun of sokka for not realizing he was in love with his best friend.
because, well, if what sokka said was true, then it looks like hakoda’s a little bit into guys and a little bit in love with his best friend too.
