Moon of Happiness, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the poem used, but I do own this story in its entirety.

Title: Moon of Happiness

Author: Stardust of Orion

Rating: K

Warnings: None, but you probably want to have watched at least through the end of Season 1.

Summary: The 'date' we didn't see. Yukka (Sokka x Yue)

Author's Note: Unfortunately there wasn't much time in the show to give Sokka and Yue a deeper and more meaningful relationship/bond, so I wrote this story to essentially be a missing scene from the show which gives them that moment.

Moon of Happiness

Skating the river-

her white scarf flares backward

into moonlight [1]

Sokka hung over the ice bridge, watching the water below as it swirled quietly toward the ocean. He waited patiently to see Yue's boat pass, as it usually did this time of day. She finally appeared, the water pushing her tiny boat toward the bridge, and he grinned down at her. "Princess Yue! Hello!" She smiled slightly up at him and raised her hand in a silent gesture of greeting. Sokka hurried down the slippery stairs and along the icy walkway until he was jogging alongside the boat, attempting to speak to her and watch the path so that he wouldn't, once again, be left floundering in the water when the ice-walk ended. "Won't you meet me somewhere?"

"I don't think so, Sokka. You know that isn't a good idea."

"Ah, come on, it doesn't hurt to be friends."

She smiled sweetly at him. "I guess that is true. Maybe we could meet this evening after supper?"

"Yes! Oh, uh, I mean…I would be honored Princess Yue." He carefully deepened his voice and straightened up so that he would look taller, more manly, and abruptly felt himself falling. He let out a girly "eep" as he splashed down into the water and came back up choking, having snorted a nose full of salt water.

The sound of Yue's giggles echoed back to him, tinkling like ice crystals falling in a sudden gust. "I'll see you tonight, Sokka. Be sure to bring your sister and Aang."

He crawled out of the water and shivered, a frown on his face. He really didn't want Aang and his sister along too, not on a date. Maybe they'd wander off. Aang often did that, dragging Katara along with him most of the time. He grinned stupidly to himself at the thought of being alone with Yue, earning a few odd looks from people as he passed by on his way back to the palace.

He'd get Yue alone again, finally, even if he had to bribe Aang and his sister to leave. Sokka wasn't sure why it was so important to him, especially with Yue being engaged, but somehow he felt drawn to her; pulled to her side. They were meant to fall in love, he was sure of it. From watching Yue, he was also sure she felt that tug toward him too, though she tried to push it away; push him away, out of a sense of duty.

He understood that as well. Duty was important. Responsibility and obligation to one's family and people were quite valuable to him. He had longed to help his tribe; to be a real warrior and go with the men of the village. He wanted to stop the Fire Nation. But this was different, wasn't it? It was a question he had been asking himself a lot lately, and he had been conflicted regarding his feelings toward Yue and his feelings of duty to his friends, of honor to his water tribe, and his responsibilities to the world.

Katara told him a couple of nights ago about her waterbending master having an arranged marriage with Gran Gran, just like Yue had an arranged marriage. Gran Gran must have felt a duty toward her family as well, but she had seen that it was more important to follow her heart. Maybe he could share that with Yue. Perhaps they didn't have to leave each other ever again and could be happy in the Southern Water Tribe, married with a couple of brats running around. As that particular image occurred to him, he forgot to watch what he was doing and ran straight into a tall column of ice, flopping backwards onto the snow. He laid there for a moment, grinning dazedly up at the sky until a couple of children threw a snowball at him. He jumped up, wide grin still on his face, and headed to his room to prepare for what he was sure would be a big night.

The four of them wandered through the city walkways as the sun slowly disappeared behind the snow-covered cliffs. Dinner had been excellent, though not as good as Southern Water Tribe food. It was still similar though, which meant it was really wonderful as far as Sokka was concerned. Aang chattered happily about various topics, Katara explained her waterbending training, and Sokka felt like yelling at them both to go away. He wanted time alone with Yue, but so far, they had stuck close by them.

"Hey, I know-!" Aang jumped up and sped down the ice path on a ball of air, toward the outer city and the cliffs beyond, leaving the other three to hurry along after him. Sokka grabbed Yue's hand and tried to hang back, sensing the moment was right for some alone time.

"Shouldn't we follow them?"

"We will." He tried to sound nonchalant, but he was excited to finally have her all to himself.

"Sokka, this isn't- "

"Hey! Hurry up, you two!"

Sokka ground his teeth at Katara's insistent voice and was going to duck into an alley with Yue, but she pulled him along toward Aang and Katara. He heard the Avatar's loud "whoo hoo, yeah" in the distance and grudgingly trotted forward.

"Let's go see what he found, Sokka."

"Yeah, alright…"

"What was all that about?" Katara looked at Aang with suspicion as Yue and Sokka walked up next to them.

"That!" Aang pointed to the hills just beyond the city, where the nearly full moon was just peeking over the cliffs, shedding light onto the city below.

"What?"

"The sleds, Katara."

"The ice-sleds? What about them?"

"I saw the kids this afternoon, sliding down the hills. Let's borrow a sled and have some fun!"

They all peered down at the ice-sleds, which shown bluish-white under the moon's light, their intricate carving on the front showing up particularly well in the moonlight and shadow. The rest of the ice-sled was just a flat sheet of ice with a white rope hooked through the delicately up-curved front.

Despite his desire to be alone with Yue, Sokka couldn't help blurting out his interest in them. "Yeah, it did look fun. I saw them earlier today too."

"Great! Let's go!"

"I don't know, Aang. I've never ice-sled before." Yue glanced at the other two, but they both just grinned wickedly at her. She laughed. "Ok, we can go ice-sledding."

Yue stared up at the hill with wide eyes. "I didn't realize it was so high."

"Ah, it'll be alright Yue. We'll go down the hill together."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Sokka, the sled is only big enough for one person at a time."

He didn't miss a beat, as he continued to stare into Yue's enchanting eyes which were turned adoringly up at him. "Like I said, I'll go first so you can see how I do it and then I'll stay down here and stop the sled if you get out of control."

Sokka trudged up the hill dragging the heavy ice sled. "Why'd I get stuck pulling the sled up the hill?"

"Because you're good at it, Sokka."

Katara laughed at Aang's quip, adding her own comment when she saw Sokka's face. "You're such a strong man, Sokka." She crowed with laughter and Aang snickered. Sokka harrumphed to himself and strode forward, yanking the sled quickly along behind him. It caught on a sharp piece of ice suddenly, wrenching him backwards and he found himself flailing momentarily until he crashed down onto the cold sheet of ice. It immediately slid out and he found himself flat on his back watching the stars blur into streaks as the sled raced down the hill. It hit a bump and he flew into the air and landed in a huge, but soft, drift of snow.

He came up spluttering and spitting out snow, his face beet red from embarrassment. "I meant to do that!" He could hear all of them laughing at him now, their loud voices urging him to bring the sled up quickly. When he finally dragged himself and the troublesome and heavy sled, up over the crest of the hill, he collapsed onto the snow, out of breath.

"Sheesh, Sokka, it took you long enough."

He glared at his sister and she stuck her tongue out at him. He blinked at her in shock for a moment until he felt a wide grin spread across his face. It was good to see his sister relaxed and happy, even if it meant she good-naturedly teased him more often. This trip had been hard on her. He jumped to his feet and bowed, as regally as he could muster, toward Yue. "Your turn, miss."

She laughed and shook her head, holding up her hands to ward him off. "No! No! You said you would go first."

"I just did. Oh! I forgot to wait down there for you."

She giggled at his sheepish look. "That doesn't count, Sokka."

"Ok!" He jumped on the sled, feeling exhilarated by the cold, crisp air and the beautiful girl watching him. He pushed out and the sled was again racing down the hill, but this time it slid to a slow halt. He decided that, all in all, when you rode these things as they were meant to be ridden it wasn't half bad. He waved up at Yue. "Easy. Now you try."

"She can't without the sled, Sokka." He stared at the sled by his feet. He knew from the tone in Katara's voice that she was rolling her eyes at him.

After he drug the sled back up the hill and trudged back down again, he found himself staring up at the three figures. Katara and Aang were busily giving Yue tips and helping her settle into the sled. The huge white moon was still low in the clear sky, just cresting over the hill so that it dwarfed them and bathed them in silvery white moonlight. Aang and Katara both stepped away from the sled, waiting for Yue to feel comfortable before they gave her a slight push. Her fair skin and white hair looked almost luminescent and ethereal in the moonlight as he stared up at her, her face and hair blending with the white light. The moon loomed behind her and she smiled down at him. He felt a wave of fear and pain wash over him, causing him to feel almost dizzy, but the impression vanished almost instantly as Aang and Katara pushed the sled. It gently went over the edge of the hill. Yue's white hair flew backwards, mingling with the white moon as she sped toward him, all the while laughing. The sled slowed but hit a bump, almost sending her flying out, but he caught her and they tumbled together into the snow, giggling.

"Sokka, that was so fun! It was exhilarating!" She was breathless and smiling up at him as he pulled her to her feet.

"Then lets do it again."

Yue hesitated, but her eyes gave away just how much she wanted to go sledding with him again. Nevertheless, he was certain she was going to refuse. As he watched her silently struggling with herself, Sokka suddenly understood all the things he needed to tell Yue or else risk losing his chance forever.

"Yue-" The importance of his words allowed Sokka's voice to naturally become deeper, more sincere and meaningful. "None of us know what this journey or, for that matter, life will bring us, but we choose happiness when and where we can. Look up there at Aang and Katara. Do you see how much fun they've already had just watching us? We've traveled a difficult road and it will probably only get harder before this war is over, but we all still choose to be happy now. That doesn't mean they will turn their backs on duty and honor tomorrow, it just means that for right now they are content to be happy with each other. Yue, I know how important duty is to you, but tonight, will you choose to be happy with me, at least now while we can?"

Yue seemed stunned by the emotion- the depth of meaning- in his words, struggling to process all he was saying. Finally, she simply took his hand in hers and they walked up the hill, content to just be with each other a little longer. Duty and honor would come knocking soon, they all knew, but tonight at least they would be happy.

[1] This story was inspired by the wonderful haiku above, which was written by Carol Purington. I highly recommend you go and check out her beautiful poetry, some of which you can find online. Also, the title of this story was inspired by a book of her haikus.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are welcome. (And a big thanks to all of you who reviewed my other 2 stories!)

For those of you who are interested in what I am doing next, I've been working on another one-shot. This time it is a character deathfic, which is not really my thing at all (they're just so sad). I got the idea for this one in my head though and I just couldn't let it go. I hope to have it posted soon, but it is a difficult thing to write (because it's...yep, I'll say it again, so sad). If I decide I need a break, I might just post something else first. Out of curiosity, and for future reference, what do you all think of character deathfics? Like them, hate them, not sure? You can tell me in the reviews, if you wish.