Sukka Week, 2014

Day One: Travel

The stench of salt water and sand burned the insides of Sokka's nostrils as he inhaled deeply, fighting hard to suppress the overwhelming rush of emotions he was feeling as he gripped the railing of the boat until his knuckles turned white.

He was tired of the smell now; it made him sick to his stomach, as he had been inhaling it for the past 3 and a half weeks on this forsaken ship. As far as he could see, all that was in sight was just the blue, serene ocean which taunted him, reminding him how far away he is from where he needs so badly to be.

His ship was headed towards the Fire Nation; the Fire Nation capitol, to be exact. He was on his way to the Royal Palace, where the Firelord would be waiting to escort him to a remote island where a prestigious healing facility was located. It was a private staff reserved only for the Royal Family's purposes, and Zuko had been kind enough to assemble the best healers and nurses in all the Nation for her, even if it meant taking time away from his political duties. Sokka was grateful, for he if he couldn't be the one taking care of her, he was glad at least a professional could take his place for the time being.

Sokka's grip tightened around the railing, making his hand start to cramp up, but he ignored the pain. His mind couldn't help but remind himself why they were in this situation in the first place. Curse her blasted pride and honor. Spirits know how much trouble it's gotten her into this time.

The way Sokka was notified with the accident was a letter sent from the Royal Family's messenger hawk giving him a brief description of what had happened. It only stated that she was hurt; not how bad it was or how it happened. All he was certain of is who did it.

"Our livestock are dying, our fields are bare, and we running out of materials for our weaponry," The emperor complained aloud. "Curse my father in his grave for leaving me this kingdom in such horrid shape after he passed. We aren't fortunate to have a growing population of benders, and we do not have the supplies nor the funding, to nurture our villages independently. What would one say we should do?"

"What do you want us to do, sir?" the solider asked his master from the shadows. The only light illuminating the emperor's quarters was a single candle flickering around his tall frame.

His master didn't turn around to look at him, but said, "It's simple. If the Firelord refuses our deal, we exterminate him and seize his kingdom. We have every right to the Fire Nation's prosperity and fortune, someone just needs to take it." in a low voice.

"But your Majesty, he is friends with the Avatar. That is not how things are done anymore-"

"I don't care how things are done now," He snapped at him. "When I assumed the throne, I was educated in the ancient ways; traditional ways. Would you rather live in a world of poverty and despair- you, your wife, and your children- or would you like to live in a utopia where the grass is green and our factories our country riches?"

The solider paused, knowing he was beaten. He could not argue that he never wanted a brighter future for his family, but he still felt as though stealing someone else's life work was cruel and inhumane, no matter how beneficial . "How shall we attack?"was all he could manage to murmur.

"Arm our soldiers with our finest weapons; the arrows we have just recently developed will do nicely."

"But your Majesty!" The solider jumped, shocked at his masters instruction. "T-The arrows! They are poisoned, and-"

"And we have yet to find a cure for the poison, I am aware." The emperor finished for him. "I do believe that was the whole point of creating these arrows." For the first time in the conversation, he finally turned around to look at the soldier he was speaking to. "Just do as I say, and no one will get hurt." He smiled to himself. "Well, no one important, anyway."

Sokka had come immediately from the South Pole when he received a letter by a messenger hawk. He took a ship out until he reached the mainland, and trespassed through Air Nomad territory for a few days. He hiked up the mountains and through the temples, where he talked some Air Acolytes into sending a boat for him. He was grateful when the ship arrived six days later, and started on his journey to the Fire Nation, where he will yet again, have to board another boat with Firelord Zuko.

It was not an easy escapade, but Sokka couldn't care less about how long or hard his trip would be. All he cared about was getting to Suki before it was too late. From what he could tell, her condition was worsening each passing day. He couldn't waste any time with telling anyone where he was going and why, so he left a brief note for Aang and Katara explaining what happened and that he'd be gone for awhile. He was sure they'd understand.

They always do.

Running had seemed to be a new hobby for Zuko; one he wasn't fond of. During their meeting with the emperor of the country Bei Ke Rui, he had started to make his way down a long list of complaints of his kingdom's poor condition, and since the Fire Nation's economy has more than enough wealth to go around, he proposed the idea of Zuko giving them a loan to help them out of their dept.

Zuko said he would be happy to help, if the kingdom would provide something in return for a trade; such as goods or a specific product of some sort so his country would be prospering as well.

But the emperor's mood suddenly darkened and he put on an offensive front, stating that of course his kingdom had nothing to offer if it was in such bad shape. If they weren't, he wouldn't be asking for his help.

At that moment, Zuko apologized, but concluded that he had to pull away from the deal, as he's obligated to do what is best for his country; that it must be his first priority. This angered the emperor to great measures, so much to where he stood up from his chair and threw the table they were seated at over to the side, glaring menacingly at Zuko. He roared that he had just made a horrible mistake, and he would learn to regret it.

Suki ordered her two present warriors to attack the emperor's guards as she hurried Zuko out of the room and down the hallway, trying to reach an exit. She lead him to a hall on the third floor of the palace was, and stopped at the railing. Suki eyed the large, marble doors below them and made her decision. She then began unbuckling armor.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked her.

"Getting you out of here," She replied briefly, strapping the vest tightly around his torso. "This vest is made of a special padding that is very think and not easy to break through. If you wear it, the arrows won't be able to hurt you."

"Suki," Zuko said, still wildly confused. "I don't understand."

"Do you want to get out of here alive, or not?" She quickly snapped at him.

Zuko debated that thought for a short moment, but hastily decided this would not be a good place to argue with her. "What do you want me to do?" He dejected. His heart dropped when she took hold of a velvet rope that was used for pulling curtains back. She franticly pulled on it, causing it to break from the metal curtain hanger and wrapped it around the railing of the second floor. She tied it in a knot, her nervous hands failing her as she sloppily fastened it around the rails. "Again, what are you doing?"

"I want you to swing down this to reach the doors-"

"What!"

"It's the only way to get downstairs without getting caught."

"Are you crazy!?" Zuko hissed.

"No, I'm resourceful." She replied, a sense of finality in her voice. "When I give you the signal, I want you to swing down this rope and run as quick as you can without hurting the least amount of soldiers as possible. The less damage we cause, the less likely the emperor will declare war on the Fire Nation."

"You expect me just to walk out the front door?"

"Of course not. I called in reinforcements from the Kyoshi Warriors and your royal guards before the meeting even began. They'll be waiting outside the gates to take you to a ship that'll get you far away from here."

Zuko stared at her with a look of awe for a long moment. He couldn't believe how well this whole plan had been thought out. It seems she knew what was going to happen from the very beginning; she went out of her way to take precautions that he was too blind to see. This was by the far the best protection he had ever received, and made a silent vow that he'd have to find as many ways as possible to repay her. "You're brilliant, Suki." Was all he could say.

She gave him a small smile and her eyes sparkled. "If I'm not looking out for you, who will? Obviously we can't all be brainiacs."

Sokka stumbled back a few feet when the ship jerked forward and he looked down to see that they had finally landed. His heart skipped a beat and he didn't even bother to use the ramp the crew members were currently setting down for him. He hopped over the side of the boat and attempted to land on his feet, but he was so anxious that he fumbled and sloppily rolled onto his side.

He quickly scrambled to get himself back up and made a bee-line towards the healing facility on top of the hill and past a small village. He was out of breath by the time he reached the top, but he ignored the drops of sweat beading down his forehead and the feeling of his lungs burning for oxygen. He hasn't been able to breath for a long time now.

Firelord Zuko had "generously" offered to stay behind with Suki at the facility rather than escort him to the island, which Sokka had a feeling wasn't such a hard decision for his old friend. He was well aware of his girlfriend's growing relationship with the Firelord, and wouldn't be surprised if his friend had developed minuscule feelings for her after his breakup with Mai.

After all, they had been spending a lot of time together after the war ended, and Suki was quite the catch for any man in the whole nation. Sokka tried to convince himself that no matter how far apart they were, they would always find their way back to each other. She had reassured him countless times that he was the only one who held her heart, but there was still one thing Zuko had that he didn't; he was there for her when Sokka couldn't be.

Zuko tried to stifle a chuckle and shook his head. She never failed to amuse him. However, their tender moment was interrupted by yells down the hall. Both of their heads flicked in that direction, and they shared a knowing look. Their time was out.

All the sudden, something popped into Zuko's train of thought. "Suki," He said. "How will you escape?"

"You better get ready," She told him, ignoring his question completely.

"I'm not leaving without you," He said sternly, grabbing her attention.

Suki took a moment to put her hand on his shoulder and take his hand in hers, looking at him with frantic eyes. "It'll be ok. You just have to trust me." Zuko looked her hard in the eye, giving her a silent message, and she nodded in understanding. She hoped he hadn't just given herself away, but she had a feeling they both already know what she was about to do.

"Get ready," She whispered, and Zuko gripped the rope tightly in his hand as he perched himself up on the raining. "Zuko?" He looked back at her. "Tell him."

He didn't need a minute to think about what she meant; of course he knew whom she was talking about. Who else could it be? Much to his own disgust, he felt a pang of jealously weigh on his already-heavy heart. He'd have to acknowledge it later. Zuko nodded his head and promised; "I will."

He took one last deep breath and braced himself for her signal. "Now!"

Zuko launched himself off the railing and screamed as his eyes widened while he held onto the rope for dear life. He begged the spirits that Suki wouldn't let him fall; that the knot she tied was strong enough to hold him. As the ground approached him, and the marble floor of the palace was getting closer and closer, he let go of the rope and landed on his side. Zuko let out a grunt upon the impact, but wasted no time and rose to his feet. He sprinted towards the door as fast as he could, dodging all the attacks he was able to.

She was right; with the vest, it made it difficult for any of the arrows shot at them to hurt him at all. Most of them just bounced off his torso, but a few pierced through his long, ebony hair, leaving his tresses scattered all over the floor. He had no other choice but to kick and blast some of the soldiers aside in order to get to the exit safely, much to his chagrin. He made a mental note to apologize to Suki later.

Zuko had a feeling of triumph wash over him as he came closer to the door. He just had to take two lengthy jumps, and he'd make it. He made a dive for the exit, and pushed the door open, rolling out and down the steps. He got back up to his feet with a prideful smile on his face and he panted, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He looked back behind him and said, "That was amazing!" He said breathlessly. "You're amazing, Suki."

He thought aloud, expecting to see the petite auburn behind him. Only she wasn't there.

Zuko heard a cry. His stomach writhed with an unfamiliar pain.

He felt as though he might vomit.

And suddenly he couldn't breathe.

He slowly turned around to look over his shoulder and a yell escaped his own lips. He saw the painted warrior fall to the ground, limp and bleeding from multiple places. Guards surrounded her and prepared to drag her away, as she did not even bother to get up. He knew this was her plan all along; she wasn't expecting to get both of them out; she understood that only one of them would make it. She had made the decision long ago that it wouldn't be her.

Deep down, Zuko knew this was her full intention, and yet he still went along with it. How could he? What possessed him to become so selfish and put one of his best friend's life at risk? He shouldn't be surprised to see her lying there, possibly dead, on the ground and swimming in her own blood. But he still felt this shock that one of the best warriors the world has has ever known was now lying motionless and vulnerable.

He thought he felt a hand on his shoulder, but Zuko's body had gone completely cold, numb even. He could barely hear the muffled sound of one of his guards from his palace tell him they needed to keep moving. "Your Majesty," He said. "We were given instructions from Warrior Suki to make you leave the premises of this island at all costs. You'll have to come with us." He felt the hand on his shoulder tighten, and then there was another guard holding his other arm.

"No," Zuko murmured, still watching Suki's limp body. "No!" He said once again, and this time he started to struggle to get out of the guards' grips. "Suki!" He cried, trying to get to her. "Leave her alone!" He yelled when the emperor's servants grabbed hold of her arms and began to drag her off. "No! Let go of me! They're taking her away!"

He tried to blast his guards with fire, but of course they were both Firebenders as well and contained his flames, continuing to take him back towards the gates. All Zuko could hear from then on was the pounding of his own heart in his ears. He suddenly felt dizzy and his eyes became very heavy.

The only thing he remembered before he blacked out was the sight of Suki's beaten and bloodied body and the feeling as if someone had just driven a stake through his chest.

"How is she?" Was the first question he asked as he stalked down the hallway where he saw the Firelord standing tall. He felt all the muscles in his body tense as he approached him, fear inside of him tying frightful knots in his stomach. When he didn't get an answer, he asked again. "Well?"

"She's...not looking too good, Sokka..." He replied, his voice low.

That's when his head started to spin.

"They captured her-"

"How did you get her back?"

Zuko gave him an annoyed look for interrupting him. "I gave the emperor just what he wanted; money."

"Exactly how much money are we talking about?"

"That's not important. You can't put a price on Suki's life." Zuko replied without hesitation. "She was shot three times. Once in the front and twice in the back. Normally, it would be treatable, but the kingdom of Bei Ke Rui are best known for the work in artillery. They've developed a poison that's we haven't found a cure for yet, and-"

"Can you just skip to the point, oh great and powerful Firelord?"

Zuko's expression immediately darkened. "The arrows were coated in that poison. It's killing her. We can't cure it. Did I dumb in down enough for you to understand, commoner?"

Sokka ignored the insult. "What kind of poison is this, exactly? Maybe if we get Katara down here-"

"We call it Dreame Shaid. It's been causing her to hallucinate the worse her condition gets." Sokka noticed how pained the man before him suddenly looked. "She...told me to tell you..." Zuko took a sharp intake of breath and shook his head, shaking away his temptation of not telling the man in blue before him. But that was the only she had asked of him; of course he would keep his promise. "She told me to tell that she loves you, Sokka."

"I'll let her tell me herself. I need to see her," Sokka replied. Zuko put his arm out to stop him and voiced his protests, but he made a swift move to duck under it and darted down the hall. He didn't head footsteps running after him, but that didn't make him slow his pace one bit. He looked up and down the many corridors and started to wonder just how big this facility really was. How hard could it be to find her?

When Sokka was finally out of breath from running around like a four year old, he leaned against a door to compose himself and breathe. However, he didn't realize that the door was open, and as he leaned on it, he fell into the room it gave access to. He landed on his back with a grunt, and rubbed the back of his, now sore, neck.

"Sokka?"

He froze.

Sokka slowly turns his head to the left, almost afraid of what he might see. And he was right to. There lay Suki, pale and exhausted looking; with the veins in her body all black and popping out of her skin. The Dreame Shaid, Sokka thought to himself. Tears came to his eyes as he looked upon her beaten and weak body, her eyes tired and scared. Sokka felt his breath hitch in the back of his throat at the sight.

"...Suki?"

"How have you been?" Was the first thing she asked him, as if it were any other, ordinary day.

"Um...ok..." He said, still eyeing the black lines that were etched around her face and marred her skin. "How..how are you?"

"I've definitely been better," She told him, but he couldn't tell if she was trying to be ironic or not. Instead of answering her, he only kept starring at her condition, not believing that any type of poison was capable of having the effect of clogging her blood flow and turning her veins black.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him as they sat together, suddenly self-conscious about how he saw her. If you closed your eyes and only heard her voice, you'd think there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. She sounded completely normal.

Sokka took in a shaky breath and look down at her with watery eyes. "I'm thinking about how sorry I am. How sorry I am that this happened to you. And how much I love you. I swear on my life that I'm going to kill whoever the sick bastard is that did this to you," He hissed bitterly.

"Sokka...please don't cry. I hate it when you cry," She cooed, cupping his cheek gently with her small, frail hand. She wiped away the tears that he hadn't even noticed begun to flow down his cheeks.

He put his hand over hers and leaned into her touch, closing his eyes and crying even harder. "I'm also thinking about how much I hate myself for not being there for you. Not just for this, but for everything. I'm sorry I never wrote back to you, Suki. I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't care about us anymore. I'm sorry that you felt alone because of me. And I'm sorry I never earned any of your love."

He was sobbing now and on his knees, still clutching her hand and keeping is against his cheek. It was soaked with his tears, but of course she didn't mind. It was taking all she had not to cry herself, but she knew that would only make things harder for him. She would've preferred him to not come to visit her at all; she didn't want him to see her like this. This would be how he would remember her, and she hated that more than anything.

"You did earn it," She croaked, her voice betraying her. "You earned every ounce of it. Sokka, I know things haven't been easy for us, but I wouldn't trade anything we have together for the world. I love you so much, and I would ache at night knowing we couldn't be together," She gently intertwined her fingers with his, making him look up at her y his red, puffy eyes. "But we're together now. And that's all that matters to me."

Sokka sniffled and smiled down at her tenderly. The woman that lay before him never ceased to amaze him in everything she did; everything she was. His heart swelled so much at her words, he thought it would burst. No matter how much it made him feel elated to hear her say that, he knew he didn't deserve one word of it. "You're so good to me," He whispered, not even sure she could hear.

"I can't promise you an easy life," He suddenly said, not knowing what had possessed him. "I can't. I never could, and I never will. But I can promise you one thing," Suki took such a sharp intake of breath as he got down on one knee, Sokka thought it was almost dangerous. "I can promise you a world of never-ending love and adoration. I can promise to hold you tight, but not hold you back. I'll stop at nothing until you've reached your utmost happiness in life; I won't sleep at night unless I'm sure you'll be there beside when I wake up the next morning. And so,"

He saw how her eyes followed his other hand as it reached into his pocket and smiled. "Suki, will you fulfill my lifelong dream since I was sixteen, of spending the rest of our lives husband and wife?"

He put a silk choker with a forest green pendant made out of stone into her hand. Suki gasped as she studied the design; the Earth Kingdom symbol with a background of the Water Tribe insignia put together for a beautiful combination. She then felt tears sting her eyes, but she didn't try to hide these ones. "Oh, Sokka..." She said breathlessly, running her thumb over the surface and feeling the indents his knife had made. "It's beautiful." Her expression suddenly turned bitter and she smacked his shoulder, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"You idiot! Why didn't you do this sooner?"

He let out a laugh. "Well I was saving this for a better time, but recent events kinda changed my plans, if you haven't noticed."

For a second he thought his joke might've been too intensive of him, but her echoing laugh reassured him. "You don't know how much I've missed your horrible jokes." She told him.

"Hey! What do you mean horrible? I've been working on my act for three years now, you're lucky your sides aren't splitting yet." She laughed again, and that just went to remind Sokka of how lucky he was to call this girl his. It also made him feel even more awful that he wouldn't be able to call her that for much longer.

After a moment of silence, Suki had stopped laughing and he had stopping speaking. Her face expression slowly turned sorrowful, but not for the reason he might think. "Sokka..." She said.

"What is it?" He asked taking hold of her hand again, tighter this time.

"The emperor's arrows...they're going to be killing people with them, aren't they?" She wondered aloud, although she already knew the answer. "They could wipe out entire populations with this poison, and no one knows what to do about it." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then looked back up at him. "Sokka, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything," He said without hesitation. "Just name it, and I won't rest until it's done."

"I need to know that someone will be willing to take care of the people who will be plagued with this burden. I need to know that someone will be working on finding a cure for this poison and save all the people who the Bei Ke Rui will terrorize." Her voiced wavered and Sokka gave her a concerned look, but she wouldn't return his gaze. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I just have to be sure someone will carry this on if I won't be the one to do it-"

"Stop," He said abruptly, causing her to jump. "Stop talking like that." He looked her hard in the eyes and searched them for emption. So many things hid behind her purple orbs, but he could only make out the look of fear and excitement. "I do what you ask, but only if you make a promise to me in return," She anxiously awaited his condition, and silently prayed that it wasn't what she feared it was. "I'll find a cure for the Dreame Shaid, but only if you keep holding on until I do. I swear that I'll do my very best to heal everyone who is poisoned, as long as you'll be the first one I treat."

Seeing the tears trail down her cheeks killed him, and he wanted to cry with her, but he knew he had to remain strong until she agreed. And it looks like his tactic worked. "Ok," She croaked. "I promise." With that, he smiled from ear to ear and kissed her hand. And then her cheek, forehead, eyelids, and finally her lips.

"You know, you still haven't given me an answer yet."

She let out a breathy laugh and kissed him again, this time longer more gentle. "Of course I'll marry you, Sokka. I'd marry you right here and now if we could."

Sokka felt like he was floating as he left Suki's room, despite the situation they were in. The girl he loved, loved him back. She even said she would marry him, for Agni's sake. What else could matter it him?

Apparently, a lot.

Sokka was met by Zuko in the hallway after he had exited his girlfriend's-no, fiancé's- room. "You proposed to her?" He spat.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"And on her deathbed? Are you out of your mind!?"

"No, I'm quite in it, actually." He replied calmly. "What's it to you?"

"What's it to me?" Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Suki's dying, Sokka, and I don't think you understand that. You can't get her hopes up, she's fragile right now! She doesn't deserve this!"

"You're right. She doesn't deserve this." Sokka snapped, abruptly stopping and spinning around on his heels. "But who's fault is that?"

"Look, I know it should've been me-"

"Yeah, it should've been you. It should've been me; it should've been anyone but her. But it wasn't. And you're the reason this is happening to her."

"And how do you know? You can't even fully comprehend what's going on!" He retorted bitterly. "Did she even tell you what we were doing there? Or exactly what happened?"

"O-Of course she has. What do you think the first thing we talked about was..."

"No, it wasn't. She hasn't even told me that. She's still too traumatized to talk about it."

"Well can you blame her? Whatever that stuff is, it's killing her, Zuko. Anyone would be traumatized by that. The question is why the hell didn't you stop it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. Why else would she give you, a master Firebender, her protective vest if she knew both of you wouldn't make it out alive?" Sokka narrowed his eyes into black slits and clenched his jaw. "You knew that was her plan this entire time and you didn't do anything about it."

"There was nothing to be done," Zuko said, superiority dripping from his voice. "You know just as well as I do that once Suki makes up her mind, there's no stopping her."

"Don't talk like that," Sokka warned him. "Don't talk like you know her better than I do. She saved you because it's her job, not because she cares about you."

"Who are you to speak on her behalf? You're the one who hasn't contacted her in three years-"

"We both had duties to our villages and she understood that," Sokka quickly defended. "We both decided it would be best to go our separate ways until we could figure out a compromise of where we would live."

"What kind of relationship is that?" Zuko practically spit the words out as if they were too sour to have in his mouth. "You should at least have the decency to write her a letter. Now the last memory she'll have of you is your pathetic whimpers at her deathbed, and you're broken promise to marry her." He hissed. "Then you'll really regret proposing to her."

That's when Sokka snapped. He lunged forward and held him up against the wall by his collar. "You have no idea what we have together. I will never regret a word I said in there for as long as I live. I love her more than I love my own life, and I'm going to spend the rest of it looking for a way to save her. But it would mean a lot to Suki if you'd help me with that." Sokka couldn't believe what he had just said, and almost regretted saying it. "As usual, the choice is yours."

And with that he stormed down the hallway, leaving the Firelord alone to think by himself.

The next decade went by in a blur. It seemed like only yesterday, Aang was serving as their priest, reciting the lines "By the power invested in me," during their small wedding ceremony in Suki's hospital room, with only their friends there to witness their vows and the tears falling to the floor.

It seemed like only yesterday, Sokka had received the news that Suki was pregnant, but terrified she wouldn't live through the pregnancy.

It seemed like only yesterday, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, with piercing blue eyes and the spitting image of his father.

It seemed like only yesterday, Suki's condition had taken a turn for the worse, and Sokka truly believed little Hakoda would have to grow up without a mother.

And it seemed like only yesterday, Sokka had been present while Oyaji and the other Kyoshi Warriors dug his wife's grave, and made her memorial in her beloved dojo.

But, she didn't need it.

Sokka had finally fulfilled his promise to her and found a cure to the Dreame Shaid, and saved his wife with only a matter of minutes of her life left. It was the greatest miracle Sokka had ever witnessed. And it was all thanks to one person. The person Sokka had so badly wanted to dispose of that day, so long ago;

Zuko.

He had worked alongside him, day and night for almost 2 years before finally making the biggest discovery in medical history for that decade. They has overcome their differences hastily, when it came to Suki's life. The Firelord had timidly asked for her forgiveness, but she only laughed and pulled him into a bone crushing embrace.

There was nothing to forgive, she had said. The same want for his apology to Sokka, as well.

And so, three children and many memories later, Sokka stood next to his wife overlooking the ocean on top of a hill on Kyoshi Island, their children running about and squealing in delight. Suki held their youngest in her arms, propping little Yue on her hip; her blue eyes sparkling for her mother. Sokka gave them both a long, dreamy smile, which caught Suki's attention.

"What's with that goofy look on your face?" She asked, her lips twitching upward.

"I just love you," He kissed her softly. "So much."

Suki hummed in response, a pleasant smile playing on her lips. "I love you too. Do you know what today is?"

"Of course," He replied, hugging her closer. "It's been eleven years."

"Twelve," She corrected him. Suki then out a snort. " I told you I could hold on until you found a cure."

"Actually, I was the one who said that, remember?" He rolled her eyes at her comment. "But even I have to admit; you lasted pretty long. Even I didn't think you had that much time left...no offense."

"Uh, some taken." She raised her eye brow at him. "What happened to the world full of love and adoration?"

"Well," He said, taking pulling her closer to him, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "I love you, and I adore you, and I never hold you back. Unless you're walking away from me, of course."

She still managed to laugh at even that joke, much to Sokka's delight. "You know why I kept fighting so long, Sokka?" She asked him, and he nodded. Suki took a look at their two kids running around at their feet, at the one in her arms, and then back at her husband.

"I had a lot to live for."

Originally, I was going to have Suki die at the end of this story, but I decided against it. I'd rather everyone have happy feelings this Sukka Week instead. I'm actually really proud of this piece. Like, really really proud. I've never written anything like this before, and I'm thinking about making this more than just a one-shot in the future.

I know it only mentions Traveling a little bit in the story, so sorry about kind going off on a bunny-trail type thing. Oops..

You all have been so welcoming on my first Sukka Week, and I can't thank you all enough! Reviews are always encouraged, and make sure to tune in tomorrow!

~Suki17