Boomerang

"Really, Sokka?" Suki asked her boyfriend as she kicked her way through a pile of leaves.

"Yes, really!" he exclaimed, lifting his head out of the bush he'd been digging in. "They've gotta be around here somewhere."

Suki rolled her eyes and sighed then placed her hands on her hips and scanned the forest floor. "You do know the Wulong forest is the largest forest in the Earth Kingdom?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and hoping he'd get the hint. This was their second day scouring the forest and they'd still found nothing.

"No," Sokka replied looking surprised. "I did not." Suki sighed quietly and wondered if he was legitimately missing her point or if he was only pretending in order to avoid an argument; one of the things that set Sokka apart from others in her mind was that she couldn't always tell when he was acting like a goof on purpose to play up his image or when it was an accident.

"And we've been looking for hours with no sign of Space Sword or Boomerang," she tried to make her voice calm and reasonable. She knew how stubborn Sokka could be but hoped that after searching for so long with no results, he might yield to logic and give in.

"EXACTLY! We must be getting close!" he said, standing up. Suki resisted the urge to smack her forehead, something she did often around the Water Tribe boy, and took a deep, calming breath.

Shielding his eyes from the glare of the setting sun Sokka looked up to scan the sky. "This should be close to where we were flying over, right?" he asked, then locked his eyes back on the ground and made his way over to her.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I was a little busy saving your butt to write down our exact location." The girl crossed her arms and frowned; she'd been in an uncannily bad mood for the last few days, and going on a wild lizard-goose chase wasn't helping her attitude.

"And I love you for it," Sokka replied, meeting her eyes and smiling the goofy smile that always made her anger or irritation disappear. He placed a hand on her waist and kissed her cheek. She felt her shoulders relax. "Just a little bit longer and then we can go back, okay? It's getting dark anyway," implored the young man; his voice was softer and more reserved than before and by his pleading expression Suki could see he knew how bored she was.

So it was an act, she thought with a small smirk. "Alright," she conceded, forcing a smile. The warrior knew she was being overly grouchy, but she couldn't help it.

"Thanks," Sokka said, smiling toothily. He kissed her again, this time a quick peck on the lips, but when he pulled away and returned to his quest, carefully examining the ground, her heart sank; she missed the pressure of his hand. Then, something else struck her. Sokka was smiling like he normally did and acting just as oblivious as he normally was but something was off.

She pretended to resume her search but watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was kicking through a pile of fallen tree branches. The corners of his lips were drooping infinitesimally and his eyebrows were knit together ever so slightly. He stopped in front of a towering evergreen tree and the saddened look disappeared as though it had never been.

Oh please, no, Suki thought, and then groaned when he turned to her with a pleading expression. "I still haven't gotten all of the pine needles off of me and it will take me a year to wash the sap off my hands from the last tree," the young woman interrupted before he could even voice his question.

"But what if THIS is the tree they landed in?" he exclaimed, waving his arms a little, but then quickly changed tactics at seeing his girlfriend's raised eyebrow. "And the pine needles look nice on you."

Suki let out a reluctant chuckle and sulked over to her companion. Then, when she realized she was sulking, she stood up straight and forced another smile. "Fine…but this is the last tree," she said sternly.

"Of course, the last tree," he replied with a somewhat devious smile. Suki sighed and untied her long and cumbersome outer kimono, leaving her in a lighter, much shorter, getup He held his hands out to give her a lift into the tree; the truth was, she didn't really need it, but was touched that he offered.

As she draped the kimono over Sokka's shoulder and stepped into his linked hands for a boost, the thought struck her that maybe this was only a setup to get her partially undressed. When she glanced down his eyes were wide and hopeful but his face was otherwise unreadable. She sighed over-dramatically, for his benefit, and gripped the tree branch above her, pulling herself up and hooking her legs around another. Slowly, painfully and stickily she made her way higher.

"Do you see anything?" Sokka called and the warrior scanned the branches above her for anything looking remotely sword or boomerang shaped. Abruptly, around the time she realized her hair was stuck to the sap leaking from a damaged place in the tree trunk, a fleeting and painful thought flew through Suki's brain; when Sokka asked her to come help him on his quest, she hadn't imagined so many pine needle pin pricks and for an instant she almost regretted coming.

"There's a bird's nest?" she called back. Peering down through the branches to get a glimpse of the boy below her, she tried to remember why she'd agreed at all. It was just to see him for a few days, remember Suki? she told herself and the feeling subsided slightly. Maybe she could convince him to go swimming after dinner; that was something to look forward to, right? This may be boring and completely pointless but at least we get to spend time together, she told herself, and conceded that it was nice to have some alone time. That was getting more difficult with all of the meetings Sokka had to go to and how much time she had to spend with Ty Lee; somehow, Suki could barely get an hour away from the newest, most annoyingly cheerful, Kyoshi warrior.

She watched Sokka sigh and glance to the side as she maneuvered her way back down the tree. Suddenly, his face lit up and she was jerked out of her thoughts when he dashed to the side and disappeared from view.

"SUKI!" he shouted, followed by the sound of rustling plants and leaves. The young woman's eyes widened and she dropped down from the branch to land in a crouch.

Did he really find something? she thought with raised eyebrows as she jogged over to his position, where he was leaning over an object on the object which, from Suki's position, looked oddly like the hilt of a sword.

"Did you really find it?" she asked in pure shock and rushed to peer over the Water Tribe boy's shoulder. She watched as he withdrew a gleaming sword from the leaves. Covering her mouth, Suki tried to contain a giggle.

Sokka's shoulders slumped and he groaned as he stood up. "What are the odds of finding a completely different sword out here?" he asked, pouting and staring at the curved blade of the scimitar.

The young warrior finally let her giggled escape. "A Fire Nation soldier probably dropped it off one of the airships," she said.

"Yeah," Sokka replied, but his voice was hollow and Suki's smile slipped off; she knew how hard he worked on that sword, and felt guilty for laughing.

"We can look again tomorrow," she said, placing a hand on his back and rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah," he repeated, looking blankly at the silver blade.

Suki sighed, she hated seeing him sad. "We will, but it's getting late, so let's head back to town and get some dinner," offered the girl.

She'd hoped that mentioning food would distract him and she certainly wasn't disappointed. The pout lifted slightly and he carefully slid the sword through his belt. "Yeah, I am getting hungry," he agreed, his blue eyes meeting hers again. "And at least we found something." He shrugged, still looking defeated and Suki nodded with a smile as he handed her clothing back.

Later that night, as the couple strolled through the village's main square eating their kebobs Suki's heart felt unusually heavy. She was leaning against Sokka's chest with his arm draped around her waist and she tilted her head slightly to see his profile. Still frowning, she thought. A small tendril of anxiety and worry crept into her mind. What if he was thinking the same thing as she had earlier, and regretting bringing her along? Somehow, it was one thing for her to briefly think it, but it made her scared that he could.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a frown.

"No," Sokka replied in a tone that indicated the opposite. She elbowed him lightly in the stomach. He sighed. "Okay, well…tomorrow. It's…uhm. What if we don't find Space Sword and Boomerang tomorrow?" he finished lamely.

"Then I we can look again the next day," she said kindly, stopping and lifting her head to look him in the eye. The young woman understood that he was torn up about his weapons, but that obviously wasn't the only reason behind his unusually morose attitude.

"No, you're going to leave the morning after tomorrow," he glanced down at his half eaten kebob; the girl knew he must have really been upset to not finish anything consisting of roast turkey duck and boar-q-pine meat and her eyes widened when his words sunk in.

How could she have forgotten that tomorrow was the last day of the three she'd set aside to help Sokka search for his lost items before she returned to Kyoshi Island? "Is that what you've been sad about?" she asked and took his hand before she remembered the tree sap all over hers. He nodded, looking at their hands and not seeming to mind the stickiness. "I'm sure you can have someone else come help you. Like Toph? She'd probably be able to find your sword fast with her metal-bending."

Sokka glanced up to meet her eyes, looking confused. "What?"

"I mean she'd be more help than me even," Suki tried to make her voice light in order to cheer him up. She never thought she'd dread going back to her home, but she realized that would also mean leaving Sokka. Again. "I don't know why you brought me to begin with," she said, only half joking, and felt that tight sadness working back through her chest. Now she knew what was bothering her, and what she had been subconsciously dreading for the last week.

Her boyfriend just raised his eyebrows and a smile started to creep onto his face. "I know I'm not going to find my things, Suki," he said calmly. "The forest is huge you know I'm not that optimistic."

"Then why did you make me wonder around in the woods for two days looking for them?" she asked, slightly sourly, and let go of his hand. She crossed her arms.

He took the last bite of his dinner and quickly chewed the hunk of boar-q-pine meat. "The same reason I didn't bring Toph instead," he placed his hands on her shoulders and his calm blue eyes met her irritated but confused green ones. "Because I know you have to go meet the other Kyoshis to help rebuild and I have to go back to Capital City to help Zuko. I just wanted a few days with only the two of us before I don't get to see you anymore," he explained sadly. Suki felt her heart melt again.

"That's the only reason you wanted me to come?" she asked, thinking what a perfectly romantic moment it would have been were Sokka's mouth not full of partially chewed food.

He swallowed and nodded with a sad smile. "I don't even know when we're going to see each other again," he said. Suki's heart was getting tighter.

She didn't know either. Who could say how long until the leader of the Kyoshis could leave her warriors, or when the representative for the Southern Water Tribe could leave the peace negotiations? A silly thought worked its way into the normally rational girl's head. "What if it's never?" she asked, recalling all the hours she spent alone in her Boiling Rock cell, feeling her heart break as she convinced herself that everyone, including him, had forgotten about her.

Sokka frowned. "Of course we'll see each other again," he said firmly. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," Suki replied honestly.

"Well I promise as soon as I can I'll come visit you."

She examined his expression: it was sad but determined. "Or I'll go to the Fire Nation, whichever comes first," she promised, feeling a little stupid and trying to push the anxiety away.

"Good," he smiled again and pulled her into a kiss, a real kiss, unlike the small pecks they'd shared throughout the day. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

She remembered the dull sort of empty feeling that everything seemed to hold on Kyoshi Island after they'd met for the first time, followed by his departure. At that time, she'd thought that would be the last she'd ever see of the Avatar's loveable but slightly pigheaded friend, but then fate had convinced her she needed to do more to help in the war. She remembered being horribly disappointed when all the Earth Kingdom soldiers would allow 'a bunch of girls' to do was provide security for the ferry, but that too had turned into a blessing in disguise when she'd caught the first glimpse of blue arrow tattoos. She remembered the warm feeling of relief that washed over her when Sokka showed up on the Boiling Rock with a half-baked escape plan. Somehow the universe did always seem to bring him back to her, even when neither of them was trying.

They pulled apart and he smiled, although his normally clear eyes still held some sadness. She couldn't blame him really, but smiled back. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "LOOK!" he shouted suddenly, causing her to jump violently, followed by a blush and a punch to his shoulder.

"You didn't have to yell right in my ear," she chided. Her heart still felt like it was made of lead, but she knew they'd see each other again.

"Sorry, but look!" he pointed behind her, but before she could turn to see what he wanted her to 'look' at, she was being dragged by one hand towards a vendor's stall and away from her self-pity and worry.

She skidded to a halt behind the young man, who was grinning ear to ear and rubbing his shoulder; Suki could punch pretty hard. "Look," he said again, more calmly, pointing to a boomerang. His boomerang. It was hanging up behind the rather shocked looking stall owner.

"Wow, it's your boomerang," she said, too surprised to come up with anything other than the painfully obvious.

"Where did you find that!" he giddily asked the vendor.

"I got it from some traders who came through the forest," the man explained, still looking slightly dazed at the teens' sudden arrival.

"It's mine!" Sokka told him.

"Like I haven't heard that one before, Kid," the stall owner replied, regaining his composure. "If you want it you'll have to pay for it like anyone else."

Sokka glared daggers at him. "How much?" he asked, digging through his coin bag.

"One hundred gold pieces," the man said calmly. Even Suki gasped. She glanced at Sokka's flabbergasted expression then back to the vendor.

"We don't have that much," the boy said blankly. Suki figured he was now regretting buying the new pair of leather boots that caught his eye when they stepped off the dock immediately after their arrival.

"Can't you lower the price just a little bit?" Suki asked in her sweetest voice as Sokka glanced down at his boots; they were 'made from gen-u-wine komodo rhino hide, guaranteed'. Or so the shop owner had assured, Sokka.

"No can do, Girly," the man said firmly. "It's all the way from Water Tribe, you know?" he explained.

"Yeah. I know," Sokka said sourly, shooting the vendor another glare. Suki placed what she hoped was a calming hand on his shoulder.

The man stroked his beard thoughtfully, "But if you want it that bad maybe we could arrange a trade?"

Sokka's face brightened but the excitement was quickly replaced by a slightly suspicious glare, "For what?"

"That's a nice sword you have there," the vendor said, gesturing to the Fire Nation scimitar that was stuck through Sokka's belt.

"Great!" In one fluid motion the Water Tribe boy withdrew the sword from the belt, placed it on the table in front of the vendor, then reached past him and grabbed the boomerang.

Suki giggled as Sokka cradled his lost weapon lovingly. "You wouldn't happen to have a black sword back there as well, would you?" she asked the man.

"Nope, sorry," he said, smiling down at his new scimitar. "Thanks, Kid," he told Sokka.

"No, thank you," Sokka replied, hooking the boomerang in the sword's vacated place through his belt since he hadn't brought the shoulder strap. He took Suki's hand and led her away from the stalls and towards the inn where they were staying.

"I'm sorry about Space Sword," she told him, still grinning at his giddiness.

"It's alright," he said. "Space Sword meant a lot to me since I made it myself, but I was more upset about losing Boomerang. My dad gave it to me and I've had it from the very beginning. I guess it really does always come back!"

Suki nodded with a smile. He kissed her cheek and she peeled her sap covered hand away from Sokka's grip and attempted to remove some for the sticky substance. "Why did you have me climb the trees if you weren't really expecting to find your stuff?" she asked playfully as he gathered the coins to buy another kebob; she figured she already knew the answer, but it was too much fun to tease him.

The crooked grin accompanied by a devious chuckle, was answer enough. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him and trying not to laugh.

The young man just shrugged. "Can you blame me, really?" he asked, with a wave of his kebob.

"You know," Suki started, leaning on one foot, popping her hip out and doing her best to look seductive while trying not to smile. "All you had to do was ask."

Sokka froze. His dinner hovered a couple inches from his mouth. There was a look of pure surprise written on his face. "Uh-hm," he started to stutter and at the blush that crept across his cheeks, Suki finally let laughter burst out.

She leant forward, standing on her toes and gave the shocked Water Tribe boy a soft kiss. "You're a dope," she told him. But he was her dope.

A/N: Yep. I finally published this. It gave me a lot of grief and I still can't tell what I think of it. Soo, yeah. I'd like to know what readers think, some examples are: "This sucks, take it down!" "This does NOT suck, DON'T take it down." Either one of those works but I'll probably shoot you a message asking what did or did not suck about it. =P

Or if you don't feel like reviewing at all: thanks for reading this far! n.n