The house was quiet as Sokka walked down the halls, fully armored. A thin stream of blood trailed from his neck, where he had only narrowly avoided being killed by an arrow. He dragged his sword along behind him, too tired to summon the energy required to lift it up to its sheath. As he reached his bedroom door, he felt the urge to cry, but held it in. Suki would not want him to waste his time with such things.
At first his bedroom looked empty, but it was only when he had stripped down to only his underwear that he saw the purely feminine body in his bed. She was wearing silk and the blankets had fallen off of her; Sokka was in too much shock to make a single noise. He cleared his throat and Ty Lee sat straight up in the bed like a lionturtle had just roared in her ear. She blushed and Sokka had to admit it was a little charming. It had been so long; Suki would want him to move on.
Ty Lee smiled; as Ty Lee always did and stretched in such a way that Sokka had to stop moving in order to regain control.
"Hi there," Ty Lee chirped.
Normally, Sokka would have asked her why she was in his bed. Normally he would have cared, but not that night. He looked out the window, where the smoke from his signal fire could be seen from miles away. That night he needed something more than rest.
"Hello," Sokka whispered as he fell, face first, into bed. Within moments, Ty Lee had wiped the blood from his neck and had the wound covered and taped. When she was finished, she straddled his back and rubbed his back and shoulders, using her knowledge of the human body to literally push his stress away.
"I've never asked you to let me replace her Sokka," Ty Lee said. "I just want a chance to try and distract you for a little while."
It was a common conversation, but already Sokka had let her get farther than usual. He turned over and looked up into her eyes. They were bigger than Suki's had been; much easier to read too. He looked away, uncomfortable with the longing he could see in them.
"I'm not ready Ty Lee," Sokka said softly. "I've only ever loved two women and now…" He let the sentence hang unfinished between them. Ty Lee nodded. She leaned down as if she was going to kiss him, but instead she rolled to the side so that she was beside him rather than on top of him.
"Did they answer?" She asked. Sokka shrugged. "I was ambushed; I couldn't wait around long enough to find out."
"Did they follow you?"
Sokka turned away from her and closed his eyes, remembering back in the days of Ozai, back when life was simple.
"Only if dead men can walk."
Sokka looked across the yard to where Master Piandao was waiting with his sword drawn. Sokka closed his eyes, searching for his life energy like Piandao had taught him to do, but it was nearly impossible. It should have been as easy as breathing, but for some reason he could only think of Suki watching him from the balcony. He glanced up at her, seeing that she was dressed in his favorite outfit. In that one second, Piandao closed the distance between them as if he had teleported.
"If you cannot focus I will have to send her away Sokka," Piandao said. "Only the best will make a difference in this war." With an acrobatic twirl, Piandao kicked himself into a sideways flip and created distance between where he and Sokka stood once more. "Now, come at me with the spirit you had when you were a younger man Sokka.
Sokka obliged, lunging forward and swinging to kill, knowing he would never land a hit on his master.
When he woke up, Ty Lee had already left the room, leaving nothing more than crumpled blankets and yet another sour memory. Sokka rose from bed, starting to get dressed as he considered a life with Ty Lee. It wasn't as though he couldn't imagine just how nice it would be, but…
"Suki," Sokka whispered. In a sudden surge of rage, he punched the wall, leaving a hole the size of his fist in its place. "Why did you have to go?" A single tear slid down his cheek, but he cleared his throat and pushed the feelings back again. Not now… someday there would be time to grieve, but not now.
After getting ready, Sokka left his room and walked to the end of the hall where a balcony overlooked the outdoor sparring arena. Ty Lee was down below stretching in the ways that only Ty Lee could. Sokka felt a deep stirring in his chest, but turned away as Suki's face popped into his head, sending a pang of guilt through his gut. As he walked away, Ty Lee called up to him.
"A messenger hawk arrived for you this morning." Sokka wondered if he should turn back, therefore admitting to watching her stretch or to just walk away and pretend he hadn't heard her. After a moment, he chose the second option and walked to the kitchen where the messenger hawk was still waiting with a note attached to its leg.
: Sokka, Bee and I will meet you there. Hope things are well, Longshot:
Sokka scratched the hawk's head and walked out to the front, where Ty Lee had begun a series of highly acrobatic dance moves.
"Longshot said they would meet us there," Sokka said. Ty Lee stopped, mid cartwheel, holding herself up in the air with one hand easily. She smiled at Sokka and rolled forward into a sitting position.
"Ok, I guess we'll be travelling alone then?" She winked teasingly. Sokka smiled in spite of himself.
"We'll be leaving by noon today so be sure you're packed."
