AN: Hi there! Welcome to my first ATLA fanfic! I'm still learning how to write the characters so pardon if they're a little OOC. Plus it doesn't help I haven't written much at all in over a year so... still trying to get back into my groove.
This story will contain Sukka as the main focus, brief Kataang, and later Taang. No explicit content but occasional suggestive elements given the subject matter. Teens will be teens.
This chapter hasn't been revised so pardon any autocorrect changes I didn't notice.
She was late. She was never late. Everything always fell right on schedule. Even in prison, much to her chagrin. Except this time, by several weeks. And she prayed she was wrong about why. There was some other explanation. Stress from the war festering and throwing her body's clock off. Miscalculating when her next would arrive. Something bad she ate, though even she couldn't reason with herself how that could affect anything. She simply refused to believe the reason was that she -
"Hey, Suki, you alright? You look kinda... worried about something. Do you feel sick?"
Aang's innocent voice laced with concern yanked her back into the real world and out of her head. She had forgotten she wasn't alone, and now found herself being stared at by her friends, all with looks of questioning solicitude. Sokka in particular, who had evidently just rejoined the group from his trip to town for Fire Gummies and jerky.
"Yeah! I'm fine, don't worry yourselves. Just... uh- thinking of my family back on Kyoshi!" She was horrendous at coming up with things on the spot. Even more so when she knew she was lying to someone she cared about. "Now, what was it you were saying?"
Suki heard the soft thud as Sokka set his bags down beside the front door to the Fire Lord's estate, immediately followed by the soft scraping of the door as he opened it presumably to go change. The rest of the group continued their chat, and try as she might, Suki couldn't quite focus on what was being said. Only the occasional singular word like "fire", "war", "prepare." Even as her boyfriend returned and sat beside her on the concrete, she was simply unable to concentrate, but kept her eyes glued to the group regardless. Partly to avoid meeting Sokka's gaze for the moment.
"Suki, are you sure you're okay? You mentioned feeling nauseated the other mor-"
"I'm fine, Sokka! Drop it!" Her heart immediately sank with compunction. She didn't mean to snap, she just didn't want him fretting and hanging over her like he had a tendency to. Guilt crept up on her when she saw the hurt look on his face out of the corner of her eye. He had meant well. He didn't do anything out of hand. She shouldn't have yelled at him. He just cared.
"Oh... o-okay. Sorry."
Suki just nodded, blinking back the tear of regret and praying he didn't notice. Wanting to put space between them but still be near him - darn confusing hormones, maybe her cycle was coming after all - she moved to lay on her side, supporting herself on her elbow. Her water tribe boyfriend gently nudged her ankle.
"Would m'lady care for a foot massage? You look like you could use it."
The Kyoshi Warrior grumbled a little, wishing he'd leave her alone to her thoughts but couldn't resist the temptation, simply moving her foot in approval with a quiet 'thank you'. He pulled her shoe off and began working his magic on her nerves as she watched on as Aang and Zuko started today's firebending lesson. Over all of the shouting on the Prince's part, the crackles and roaring of their flames, Suki could hear the birds singing their lovely melodies and once again found herself being lulled into zoning out. Their chirps were so peaceful, relaxing, carefree. It reminded her of her childhood, those spring days after training when she could run through the village with the few other kids. It wasn't long before intense fatigue made itself known, growing heavier and heavier and fogging her brain until she completely gave in to the comfort of a deep sleep.
Suki didn't know how long had passed before she was woken up by her boyfriend and Zuko shouting at Aang. She couldn't tell what they were saying, nor could she see even five feet in front of her. Her eyes refused to focus, everything around her a blurred haze of green, red, and blue. The only thing she could truly make out was the subtle warmth of the air near her, but that warmth dissipated with the first gentle breeze that rustled her hair and brushed over her skin.
"Hey there, Sleepyhead. You were out for awhile."
"Mmph..." Suki focused her eyes - or rather attempted to - on the mess of blue at her feet, Sokka snapping into clarity with every blink but quickly becoming a blur within the same second. The heavy weight of drowsiness refused to lift, her entire being screaming to fall back into slumber, but the warrior knew she was just being lazy. She needed to get up and move. "Sorry..." The word fell out of her mouth in the thickest drawl she'd ever heard. She continued to stare, blinking constantly and becoming increasingly satisfied as her vision sharpened and cleared.
Until her breathing came to a complete stop, her heart threatening to do the same as it slowed painfully.
No. That couldn't be what she thought it was.
Trying not to make her fears obvious, she forced herself to breathe manually, putting up a facade of lingering fatigue as she stared at her stomach. Which was protruding more than normal. She was always so fit and thin. She prided herself on her lack of excess pudge. She was the leader of an elite warrior squad. She couldn't afford any handicaps. And yet...
Katara's cooking was just that good. Suki must've been eating more than she realized the past few months. Back home she cooked all of her own meals and only made enough for a single serving. And that serving was only big enough to keep her from collapsing.
...But wouldn't the weight spread to her hips and thighs? It wouldn't all settle in her lower abdomen, would it?
Oh no.
Clearing her throat, Suki pulled her feet out of her boyfriend's lap and returned to her position of laying on her side, raising herself up again with her left hand falling over her abdomen. She didn't want Sokka to spot her growth, he was clever enough to figure it out, and lucky for her he'd been so distracted with Katara handing him a watermelon that he didn't notice her very deliberate maneuvering.
Zuko was visibly growing more and more agitated with Aang, stooping low enough to call him pathetic. Did she ever come off that rude and overbearing with her warriors?... No, she was certain they'd tell her, and she never once insulted their technique. She made it a point to gently guide them in the right direction. Young minds are more desirably sculpted when praised than scolded, her mother had taught her that both through words and actions. And denying Aang a chance to rehydrate? That was really going overboard. The poor kid could faint!
"Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal?"
"Fine." The prince let the Avatar go, and the boy immediately bolted to the offered watermelon juice, drinking it so quickly the Kyoshi Warrior worried his stomach would reject it. "If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" The dark haired teen turned on his heel and tromped behind the bushes out of sight.
"Maybe Zuko's right." Suki directed her gaze back to her partner, locking on his sky blue eyes and feeling it impossible to remain at edge. Even though she disagreed, her raging hormones had her completely melting internally as he spoke, his voice still stirring up a swarm of butterflies within her despite the months they'd been together. She only half listened, hearing the words but not quite processing them. It wasn't until he stood up and ripped his shirt off, loudly claiming "Beach party!" that she snapped out of her trance.
As he outright sprint to the shore, Katara and Aang exchanged excited glances before scrambling to join in. The waterbender of course had to go inside to grab her swim clothes, but Aang was free to run along the path, shedding his top as he did and blindly slinging it onto one of the bushes, kicking his shoes off in the blink of an eye. Suki slowly raised and dusted herself off, a blur of movement a few feet away catching her eye.
"Ugh. Again? What's so fun about beach parties?" The blind earthbender kicked a tiny rock off the concrete into the sand, the impact causing the pebble to become half submerged in the grains. "I can hardly see anything, and it's not like being completely surrounded by water is enjoyable in the slightest." Even as she spoke, Toph removed her top layers of clothing, and Suki felt compelled to say something in response to the complaints but stopped. Toph felt left out. She couldn't enjoy it the way the others did. It made sense.
"Come on, Toph. Relax a little." Katara closed the door behind her, carrying a red bundle of cloth in her spare hand. "It'll be fun. Maybe this'll give you a chance to work on your sandbending." Having stepped closer, she leaned towards the blind girl, nudging her gently with her elbow. "Afterall. You invented and perfected metalbending. Don't tell me the greatest earthbender in the world is scared of a little sand."
A sharp punch against Katara's arm made Suki flinch, but Katara just chuckled it off. "Watch who you're talking to, Katara. I'm not scared of sand! Today, I show it who's boss!" And with that, she was off. Amazing how close the group had gotten over the past year. It made Suki sad in a way. She hadn't been with the Gaang as long. She didn't have that understanding of how to motivate each person individually like Katara clearly did.
"Oh hey - Suki. This is for you." She held out the bundle to the Kyoshi Warrior. At closer look, the fabric was an expensive looking silk, shimmering in the sunlight with the faintest hint of golden glints, much like her disguise. "You should enjoy the chance to relax too." Not wanting to be rude, the older girl took the mysterious offering, opening her mouth to speak but was interrupted. "It's swimwear. Sokka mentioned you didn't have anything but the ragged clothes the prison made you wear and the outfit he got for you, so I got you this. Hopefully it'll fit."
The redhead blinked back tears. Katara had no reason to buy this for her other than the kindness of her heart. It had been so long since someone had done anything for her just out of kindness alone. She appreciated Sokka buying her a disguise but that was largely, almost entirely, just so her cover wouldn't be blown. Suki flicked her wet gaze back to Katara, certain her eyes were glistening with water. "Thank you. Really. I'll pay you back for-"
"Don't be silly. You're a member of the group now, and our friend. It's the least I can do to make sure you aren't left out." A gentle hand was placed on the pale skin of her shoulder. "Besides. Making my brother happy is more than enough repayment." Suki blinked in confusion before letting out a soft giggle as her words sunk in. "Now why don't you go get dressed and join us on the beach?"
The warrior opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it, nodding before shuffling inside. Katara smiled, but couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. Very wrong. She had never seen Suki even come close to crying, and yet something so small had her eyes threatening to spill over. Her brows furrowed as she walked to the shore, arriving just as Sokka dove into the water, creating a large splash before reemerging with a head covered in seaweed, that big grin of his comically stretching across his face. She waved towards him, beckoning him over... and becoming more vehement when he gave her an annoyed look. She could see his eyes roll but he returned to the sand anyway.
"What is it, Katara? Can't I just have fu-"
"Do you know what's wrong with Suki? She's been acting sorta...strange lately."
Immediately Sokka's face fell, concern twisting his features. "So it wasn't just me... no, I don't know." Unease had his voice wavering. "Did she say or do something?"
Grabbing one of the group's shared towels, Suki opened the door, stepping out and closing it gently behind her with a heavy sigh. The swimwear was more revealing than she would've liked, especially with her new insecurity about her stomach, but she supposed it didn't look too bad on her, and it was to be expected considering Fire Nation fashion. Their clothing was so much more revealing than Earth Kingdom garments, but then again their climate was much warmer, not to mention they were firebenders. As she ambled to the beach, her friends gradually faded from blobs to recognizable figures. The siblings had been talking but as she drew nearer Katara took off running towards the water and bended an ice surfboard, their conversation clearly over. Sokka turned in her direction and flinched in surprise before positively beaming, running off with a huge smile on his face. Suki couldn't help but smile herself as some of her tension melted. It was nice to have a chance to relax with everyone, have some fun. It would do all of them some good to get their minds off the pressing matters. She scrutinized the beach until she found a nice place to lay her towel out, a patch with minimal shells and stones, only soft sand. She was too tired to play in the water, and even if she was relaxing she had to keep in mind: if she was pregnant, she had to take it easy. Until she got confirmation she wasn't, she wasn't going to take any risks. Planned or not, it would be her baby and she would love it. But that was all an "if." There was no way she was. That'd be crazy!
Sokka reappeared with two wooden buckets and what seemed to be a shovel. Confused, Suki tried to give him a smile but as he kept walking back and forth, she grew more and more perplexed. What on earth was he collecting seaweed, shells, rocks, and water for? From where she sat, she could only see him piling a bunch of sand into a blob, occasionally glancing at her as if...asking for approval? What was he doing, why was he looking at her so much? She wouldn't tell him to stop, even if she didn't know what he was trying to make.
Deciding it best not to stare, she turned her attention to the others. Toph and Aang were comparing their sand sculptures of Appa and... Ba Sing Se, she assumed. She couldn't quite make it out clearly but it was impressive. Both of them were quite talented, she had to admit. They eventually made their way to Sokka's mound, taunting him into trying to make something better. With one final glance her direction, he turned to them with a proud "ta-da!"
Aang tilted his head, his voice conveying his puzzlement. "Is that a...blubbering blob monster?"
Sand was sent flying in a miniature cloud by Sokka's foot. "No! It's Suki!"
Oh. So that's what he was making. And why he kept glancing at her. Even as their friends burst out laughing and Toph made a remark about her leaving him, Suki couldn't help the small grin as her heart fluttered. He could've made anything he wanted, but he went through all that trouble trying to make something in her likeness. "I think it's sweet." Despite being an understatement, her boyfriend turned to her with the biggest smile she'd ever seen and charged towards her, falling to his knees when he got close enough and sliding into a cheek kiss, forcing a giggle from Suki's throat.
"But..." She could faintly make out Aang addressing her. "It doesn't even look like you-"
A loud bang and Aang's surprised yell had the couple jumping to their feet, Zuko suddenly appearing out of nowhere and blasting fireball after fireball at the Avatar, who naturally had begun to run away looking for safety.
"My sand sculpture!" Sokka's voice cracked as he exclaimed, running to the pile of loose sand that had completely collapsed. The boy fought fruitlessly to reconstruct the thing, picking up handful after handful of sand, as Suki could do little more than stare him down in disbelief and annoyance. Was that seriously all he was concerned about?! While it was sweet he cared about something meant to resemble her, Aang's life being in danger was a bit more important at the moment! As if reading her mind, Katara's soft voice carried through the air as she melted her ice board.
"What happened?!"
"Zuko's gone crazy! I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it!" After a brief pause he continued. "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."
Letting out a scoff of exasperation, Suki grabbed her boyfriend's hand and ran in the direction the firebenders had went, dragging her distracted boyfriend through the sand until he finally had enough sense to use his own two feet and run alongside her. By the time they caught up, Zuko had been airbended into the trees, falling to the ground below and getting a mouthful of sand and hair full of twigs.
An argument followed and ended with a blood-chilling revelation. Suki had been keeping quiet, it wasn't her place to say what the group should do after all, but now she couldn't speak even if she wanted to. The Fire Lord was an evil, evil man. No one with even a single heart cell would do what he was planning. Burning the entire Earth Kingdom down... The destruction and lives lost would be immeasurable.
She and Sokka locked blue gazes for a second, equal amounts of horror and apprehension flickering in their eyes as they leaned closer to one another. If Ozai succeeded, life as they knew it would be completely over. No one would be safe. There would be countless fatalities. And Suki couldn't forget something important: if they were expecting, their child would be at risk, even more than now. They wouldn't know a shred of peace. Only destruction and death and fear. The opposite of what any mother would want for their little one.
Even as the mood shifted to a confident, let's-do-this one, complete with a team hug, she could feel worry and stress creating knots in her stomach. Unbridled horror as reality of what could happen settled in her mind. As much as she wanted to believe they'd stop him, as much as she had faith they could... she was still scared deep down.
Everyone set off to do their own thing after a nice group hug: Aang and Zuko went to do some more fire training and Katara tagged along to observe, Sokka placed a kiss on Suki's lips before running off saying he needed to get planning, but Toph hung around with an indescribable expression. Suki, believing the blind girl simply had the war on her mind, gave a small but awkward "see you" and began making her way back inside to change. The earthbender provided no response, and only crossed her arms as she "watched" her walk towards the door with blind eyes. As soon as she pulled the handle, Suki heard a footstep behind her.
"Hey. Fangirl. Got a minute?"
"Oh - uh - sure." Letting the door handle slip from her grip the warrior turned back toward the bending master and retraced her steps until she was within a few feet. "What's up? Is something wrong? Do you need something?"
A few moments of silence. "Closer." Swallowing thickly, beyond confused and frankly a little perturbed, she obliged. "Relax, Sweetcheeks. I'm not gonna hurt you. Your heart can stop pounding." Suki blinked, and nervously laughed when it set in what she said, feeling embarrassed that she had been so apprehensive. Toph had never acted hostile towards her, so why was she so - "Listen, Fangirl. I know you and Sokka are close..." ...where was this going? "And I know you're old enough to make your own choices. But this is something I need to ask you." A small hand raised in the air, gesturing for Suki to lean closer, which she did. Toph lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Did you two...do anything? Or I should ask, have you been feeling alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean. I'm feeling weird...fluttering coming from you. Like a tiny heartbeat different from yours. The last time I felt anything like it was when we went through the Serpent's Pass with that pregnant lady, but that flutter was a lot stronger." Oh no. "I thought I was just imagining it but it's been going on for awhile and keeps...growing. So I'm just wondering." Here it comes... "Are you pregnant?"
The non-bender leaned back and swallowed, her throat instantly drying out, her heart beating with more weight than ever, her eyes feeling tingly as tears threatened to form. "I... I don't know. Maybe?"
"Does he know?" Toph's voice was strangely gentle, caring even.
"No. I - we can't be worrying about that now, we have a war! We-" A tear had trailed her face without her noticing until a hand touched her shoulder. Stupid hormones.
"Quit your fussing. Things will work out. I don't exactly support this whole...baby thing but things happen you can't take back. And maybe that's not even it. But I still think you should tell Sokka, he needs to know. And you need the support."
Suki nodded, swiping a second tear away. "I will. Thank you." She forced a laugh trying to lighten the mood. "Jeez, maybe I'm the baby! I'm sorry for crying."
"Pfft. Why are you apologizing? I'm no healer but even I know pregnant women are more emotional, or even girls around their blood cycle."
"I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right! Now, come on. Let's get dressed and then hit the town. You seem more fun to hang out with than Sugar Queen and I'm tired of sitting around here doing nothing. On the way I want you to tell me about what's been going on - but don't you dare tell anyone about any of this!"
The Kyoshi Warrior gave a heartfelt laugh, recalling how Katara had addressed her. "Don't worry. No one will find out the greatest earthbender in the world has a soft side." Even expecting it, she failed to brace herself for the true impact of one of Toph's punches to her arm, stumbling a little which brought both of them to a sincere laugh as they stepped inside.