Avatar // When the War's Over // Part 1 of 1

Oct 15, 2006 23:04

Title: When the War's Over
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Rating: K
Word Count: 465
Summary: Sokka knows she can take care of herself, but he needs to hear her say so anyway.

Other: For 31_days 10/15/06; in the context of 2-16, Appa's Lost Days.

things I will regret

*

He catches up to Suki just as the ferry station enters his line of sight. He calls out, "Wait!" and she turns.

"Sokka?"

"Wait up," he breathes, walking the distance between them.

"Did something happen? Is - "

"Everything's fine," he says, "I just - " Sokka stops.

Suki waits.

He feels like an extraordinary idiot, standing there not saying anything. He knows that Suki will be okay, he's seen her fight. She's pounded him with those pretty, harmless-looking fans of hers and nothing drives home the idea of competence like the soreness of the day after a hard round of practice (or ten). But he needs to hear her say the words.

Sokka takes her gloved hand in his, then drops it as if he'd been burned. Suki looks into her palm; her brows knit together.

"Take care of yourself," he says, then, "Promise you'll take care of yourself."

She looks up from her hand, "Sokka - "

"Please," he must look pretty desperate, because she takes a tiny step closer to him and touches his bare shoulder.

"Okay," she assents, "I'll be fine."

Sokka wraps his arms around her, and Suki leans into him.

"I can take care of myself," she says. She tilts her face up slightly; her eyes are bluer than his own.

Sokka draws away, slowly. He lets his lips curve upward in an easy smile, feeling lighter, somehow.

"I want to see you again," she says. It is a statement of fact, foil to his plea. "After the war's over." There is an optimistic glint in her eyes.

"When the war's over," Sokka repeats, testing the words. His smile grows.

Suki laughs, "When the war's over." There are a thousand meanings to the phrase - when life can start again, when the world can hobble back to normality, when they can all stop worrying about who'll be coming home broken and who won't come home at all. When the war's over. There is a lifetime after the war's over.

"Okay," he says. "I want to see you when the war's over, too. You have no idea how much - " Sokka speaks the last word against her lips, realizing somewhere toward the bottom of his mind that he probably totally had this coming - karma and all that. She is holding onto his shirtfront with one hand and has the other pressed to the side of his head. Sokka settles his hands against her waist; his insides warp pleasantly as he returns her kiss.

She breaks away from him, cheeks pink beneath her paint. Both of them are breathing irregularly.

"Okay," Suki says, and turns to go.

Sokka watches her leave and thinks about the future, when the war's over. He whistles on his way back to the meet others.

rating:k, fandom:avatar:ship:sukka, comms:31_days-2006-010, fandom:avatar, length:ficlet

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