Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender. If I did I would have at least made sure that M. Night Shyamalan got their names right.
Author's Note: This takes place at the start of The Beach and then turns into an AU by the end of the episode (you'll see). Okay, here's my first fic. Here we go.
(EDITED in 2018 - 8 years later, hah - for better writing. You'll thank me if you ever happened to read the first version.)
It was only a few hours after they had left the quiet eastern Fire Nation town of Shu Jing that Aang silently tugged at the reigns and directed Appa down to the ground. There was a deep abandoned area below, filled only with thin pillars of rock and enough of an outer edge to block the group and their bison from view. As the sun peaked awake, painting the sky in a warm orange, Sokka rubbed his eyes and shuffled over. On the other side of the saddle, Katara and Toph slept on, cuddling with each other as the cool night air blew around them.
"Good choice," the Water Tribe teen praised, automatically cataloging the advantages of having the low ground. It was as good a place as any. Sokka leaned back and yawned, waving away whatever Aang was trying to tell him. Appa landed with a clean thump, and the small dirt cloud settled just as smoothly. "Get some sleep, I'll start the first watch."
"Thanks, Sokka," the kid said, smiling, and he air-jumped to the saddle. Appa moaned sleepily, not even bothering to open his large eyes when Sokka scooted down to the ground and began setting up camp by himself.
Alone in the quiet, he took a second to admire his sword, unsheathing the blade to see the dark reflections of the stone columns and sky. He was glad he'd learned so much with Master Piandao in the short time they'd trained together, but... he wanted to do more. Needed to do more. He hadn't slept at all on Appa, going over his options again and again. No one would like it, he wasn't even sure he liked it, but it wasn't a decision the Water Tribesman made lightly. He knew Aang wouldn't let anything happen to his sister, and on his own, he might actually be able to make a difference.
His mind made up, Sokka spent the rest of the early morning hours practicing with his sword. By the time his sister arose, he was already sweaty and out of breath.
"Good morning," she greeted him, blinking awake. Toph stirred behind her. Peering up at her rumpled expression, Sokka relaxed his warrior stance and sheathed the meteorite sword with a wide grin.
"Hey, sis," he said, and, to her surprise, gathered her into a hug as soon as her feet hit the ground. Her surprise lasted for less than a second before she laughed and encircled her arms around him, pulling him tight against her.
"What's this for?" she wondered, pulling back and smiling.
The stress lines around her eyes softened, and it made Sokka both proud and sad. He shrugged, stepping back. "Can't a guy give his sister a hug without being interrogated?"
Katara rolled her eyes and asked the now-awake Toph to pass her down their bag of food so she could start making breakfast. The blind girl huffed and tossed the sack right on top of the waterbender with little to no warning. When his sister shrieked (waking up poor Aang in the processes) Toph tried to claim ignorance, pointing out that she was blind, but her smirk told a different story, so Sokka smartly stole away before the girls could get into an all-out bending match.
Soon enough, the entire group was awake and moving about, finishing chores and organizing their food and supplies. It was only later in the day, when the sun was at its peak and beating down on them mercilessly, that the heat and day's work got to them.
"Let's take a break," Sokka allowed, ever the taskmaster, and the pre-teens cheered.
Katara giggled at their enthusiasm, but she wasn't any better, in her brother's humble opinion. "Let's go swimming!"
Aang excitedly agreed. Toph snorted, muttering a low "no thanks," and Sokka shrugged, settling down on the ground near Toph with his fishing gear. As the young Avatar folded his shirt and pants on a rock for safe keeping, Toph frowned at the vibrations, looking like she wanted to say something but didn't know how. Sokka watched her curiously out of the corner his eye, but she stayed silent, so he let it go and put some halfhearted effort into fishing.
It wasn't until the airbender was floating gently in the shallow water that she blew out a large sigh and called, "Aang, I know swimming is fun and all, but do you really think you should be exposing yourself like that? Cover up."
"What? I'm wearing trunks," Aang replied innocently as Momo jumped on his shoulders. He grinned at his new companion and offered the lemur a scratch behind the ears.
"I know," Toph said, a touch exasperated as she dug her fingers into the dirt, "It's your tattoos I'm worried about. What if someone sees you?"
Katara, usually being the strict, overly-motherly member of the group, surprisingly agreed with Aang. She offered the blind girl a patronizing smile that she couldn't see and tried to explain. "Toph, there are walls all around us. It's completely safe." She started to wring the water out of her hair, and Toph shot back an unhappy response.
While the two were otherwise engaged, no one noticed Aang disappear down a waterslide and then appear back in a whoosh of air and cheerfulness. Sokka pulled his fishing line back in, empty handed, and neatly gathering up the supplies as the twelve year old jabbered about how cool this natural waterslide was and Katara should give it a try with him, it'd be so much fun.
When there was break in the conversation as Aang gulped for air, Sokka tossed a bag over his shoulder and said seriously, "I need to tell you guys something, but you're not going to like it."
That shut the airbender up, and his face lost some of its carefree youthfulness. Say what you will about Aang, but the kid knew when to take things seriously. Sokka felt a pang of regret for bringing this up when the group was trying to relax for just half a day, but he wanted to head out before nightfall, so he couldn't keep delaying.
Katara frowned at him from her position in the shallow water, making little ripples as she swanned out of the little creek, and even Toph looked worried, shifting her position on the ground to get a better read.
"I think we should separate." Sokka finally managed to say around the lump in his throat, looking away from his sister's big blue eyes. He couldn't back out now, but he also didn't want to see Katara start crying.
"What?"
"Been hitting the cactus juice again, Snoozles?"
Sokka risked a glance under his eyelashes at Toph, but the earthbender didn't look betrayed, just confused and slightly concerned. He released a breath, not realizing until now just how much he didn't want to leave them. But... as soon as he had said he wanted to leave, he'd felt it in his bones that it was the right thing to do.
Aang was the only one who didn't react in outrage and concern. Instead, he tilted his head and asked curiously, kindly, "Why?"
Sokka crossed his arms, ducking his head against Katara's wet glare. "I was getting to that. So before you all say 'no it's too dangerous,' you have to agree that we need more information if we want to win on the Day of Black Sun. The best bet we have in defeating the Fire Nation is to get insider information on the Fire Lord and the royal family." At a slew of angry and confused voices, Sokka hissed, "Wait- before you start yelling, hear me out." He waited patiently for the others to quiet down and nod grudgingly for him to continue.
"Katara," he turned to face his little sister, bracing himself for her rage and sadness and love. She met his stare unflinchingly, a puddle of water beneath her barefeet. "Remember when you told me that Azula was dressed up as Su- as a Kyoshi Warrior? That means the Fire Nation have them, they might even be in the capital city! If I go to the Palace, I could get information and get more people for the invasion." Sokka leaned back on his heels, sweeping his gaze around the somber group, keeping his voice even but impassioned, "I'll be an inside spy, gathering all their weaknesses and secrets. The Fire Nation won't know what hit them!"
Katara glared at the ground, her dark face tinged with turmoil and regret. Sokka felt his own eyes start to water. He choked back a sob and pulled her into a desperate hug full of all the love in the world. His little sister rested her chin on his shoulder, shaking, and her voice came out wobbly each time she tried to speak. "No, no, Sokka, please. I don't know what I'd do without you, what if something happens to you or you're found out to be a spy? I can't lose you too." She hiccuped, tightening her hold around his waist enough that it became hard to breathe.
"I know," he whispered into her neck, feeling the soft fabric of mom's necklace on his damp cheek. "But you'll be okay without me for a little while. I'll be back with you on the Day of Black Sun before you know it. Tell dad I say hi, and that I'm sorry I won't see him until after we've defeated the Fire Lord and ended this war."
Katara refused to let him pull away so he could look at her. She whispered back, "Please be careful. Please, please, be careful." Finally, the waterbender stepped back, swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. Her eyes glowed bright in the afternoon sun. "I love you, idiot."
"I love you too."
Sokka surreptitiously rubbed at his own face, but then hesitated when he saw Aang freely sobbing, a distraught Momo curled around his neck. Appa had lumbered over some time ago, and was shoving his face behind the Avatar and his earthbending teacher. Toph didn't have any glassy eyes, but she did look disquieted at his decision, petting Appa's furry face to calm her nerves.
"I'll miss you guys," the nonbender said to the group at large. I love you, went unsaid, but it didn't need to be spoken for them to know.
"When you're done with your spying, make sure you hit some Fire Nation heads for me, Snoozles."
Oh, he was going to miss them so much.
With a shout, Katara lunged on her older brother, squeezing with all her might. Aang laughed and then two preteens were on top of him, crushing the air from his lungs. He didn't care, relaxing into the ground as the pile suddenly got a lot heavier with Appa lightly resting his chin on the top of their makeshift pile. Momo chirruped, and swooped down for the final blow. Sokka wasn't sure if he was laughing or crying or both.
"Take care, okay?" he whispered, barely louder than the wind.
"We'll be waiting for you. Be careful, Sokka," Aang said, emotion thick in his voice. His voice hardened, "And we'll see each other once I've defeated the Fire Lord."
Sokka nodded at his determination, smiling proudly. This is my family, and I will not let them down.
After a few more hours spent together, just soaking in all the love, affection, concerns, worries, and hopes, Sokka finally decided to head off. The sun was starting to dip down, not yet settling on the horizon, but he knew how fast daylight disappears when traveling. With his bag of supplies - a week's worth of food, water, money, and a map and sleeping roll - Sokka was dropped off a few miles short of a small, hilly town - having passed over a few islands until they reached the southern tip of the mainland. He'd have to go the rest of the way on foot.
He somberly watched the three fly back to their camp sight with, surprisingly, no tears in his eyes. He'd cried his fill for the day.
Now, he was on a mission. It was time to make his way to the capital city and infiltrate the palace.