"Shelter" by eulalie27
Disclaimer: iAvatar the Last Airbender/i and its characters belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, not me.
"Okay, okay, I have another one," Sokka said, gesturing excitedly as they walked down the road. "Okay. A Firebender walks into a bar." He paused for dramatic effect. "He said, 'Ouch!'"
"Wow." Suki couldn't help but crack a smile. "That one was okay. Not your best."
"Ever since we defeated the Fire Lord, I haven't been able to be funny!" he exclaimed. "I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"Hmm, where to begin…" she teased. He glared. To show she was joking, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He continued to glower at her. "Mm, you're so cute when you're angry."
"You're cute when you tell me I'm cute." His bad mood vanished with the start of their banter.
Suki laughed. "I have trouble understanding what you're saying sometimes."
Sokka was about to give a sharp comeback when a loud clap of thunder caused him to jump. As Suki laughed even harder, he tried to tell her, "If you were as paranoid as I am, you would jump at thunder, too!"
"No one's as paranoid as you, sweetie." She wrapped an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hey, I happen to be strangely proud of that fact."
On the horizon ahead, lightning streaked across the sky. "I guess we should head home. It looks like that storm isn't too far away," Suki decided.
"Well, at least it's not-" Thunder boomed again, echoing through the woods around them. Then it began to rain.
"I can't believe that really happens," he commented.
They ran with their arms over their heads to offer some shelter from the rain. Suki couldn't stop giggling, seeing Sokka's hair falling from his ponytail and sticking to his face. They sprinted until they came to a barn at the edge of the woods.
"Thank Kyoshi for barns in the middle of nowhere," Suki panted. The rain continued to fall.
Sokka poked his head in the doors that were open a foot or so while Suki stood by, shivering in the now pouring rain. "Hello?" he called. After a moment with no answer, he turned to Suki and gestured through the doors. "Ladies first."
She curtsied a little before stepping past him. "Thank you."
The barn was large, and mostly empty. Empty stalls stood at the far end of the barn, near the opposite doors. The perimeter of the room was lined with bales of hay. A few shelves stood to their left to hold a few tools. The silence was eerie.
"Well, this is…" She paused, searching for a word.
"Creepy?" Sokka, ever paranoid, offered.
"It just seems…" She gestured wildly, frustrated with her inability to voice her thoughts. "Nice," she finished lamely. "It just has a feeling of niceness."
Sokka crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Niceness?"
"Well, I couldn't think of a word!" she defended.
"Fine, you don't have to get all-" he made a face and imitated her gestures- "blaaaaahhhh."
Despite herself, she laughed. "I love how you can do that."
"What?"
"Just make me feel better just by making a funny face or weird noise."
He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I love everything about you." The kiss they shared was short, but sweet.
"I guess we have to stay here until it stops raining," she noted as they listened to the rain pounding on the roof above them, her arms still wrapped around his neck. Thunder crashed outside as if in agreement.
"Hmm. Who knows when that could be. We could be stuck here all night," he pointed out.
"Hours and hours. But I'm not sure that would be so bad, as long as you're here too." She grinned.
"Where do you come up with this stuff? That sounds so cheesy-" He suddenly realized what exactly she meant. "Oh."
It stopped raining minutes later, but neither noticed.