A/N: Hey guys! So here's my 2nd fan fic. Once again Sukka centric. I'm doing this in honor of Valentines day. This fic is based off my "Betrothed" piece on my DevinatArt (.com) Hope you like it =3
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The auburn haired girl stretched as she stepped off the boat and onto the icy dock; blue eyes searching for the one she had been waiting to see for weeks. She met another pair of blue eyes, but they were not the ones she was looking for.
"Suki." Katara smiled warmly as she hugged the Kyoshi warrior.
"Hello Katara." she replied, hugging the waterbender back. Her breath fanned out in a cloud of white before her face.
Katara pulled away holding Suki at arms length for a moment; she seemed to be studying the warrior's face. Suki gave her a puzzled look as a grin broke across the other girl's face again.
"It's good to see you." Katara said, breaking the awkward silence and giving her another quick squeeze.
Suki looked at her dubiously, "Same to you. I'm surprised you're not with Aang."
Katara sighed, "I know. I just arrived back from the capitol a week ago. He and Zuko were so busy with meetings, he thought I'd be happier and less bored here."
"That was pretty thoughtful of him."
"That's Twinkletoes for ya, thoughtful of others and stuff." Another familiar voice spoke up.
"Toph!" Suki's eyes grew wide in shock, as the small earthbender appeared from behind Katara, "I'm so surprised you're here!"
"Yeah me too." Toph scoffed, sticking her finger in her ear then taking it out and flicking whatever came out off, "I was that the Fire Nation with Sugar Queen here and they sent me back with her."
Suki laughed as she moved forward to hug her young friend, "I'm astonished you listened."
Toph snorted, "Oh, and cuz I know you're dying to know, Snoozles is out fishing or hunting or something."
"He left a few hours ago, " Katara added, "He should be back soon."
She grinned, her friends knew her too well.
"Well," Suki said, "I sure hope so. And while we're talking about people who are here, I'm not the only Kyoshi warrior who came along." And as if on cue, a familiar brown haired girl leapt from the boats deck, did a summersault in the air and landed nimbly in the snow next to Suki.
"Who is it?" Toph asked.
"Ty Lee!" Katara cried.
"How's it goin'?" The former circus performer beamed at the other two.
Toph snorted, " Stupid snow. Alright guys, let's get somewhere warmer, my feet are freezing and I'm almost completely blind."
The other girls laughed and Katara led them to one of the larger huts.
*~*~*~*
Suki sat in silence as the four girls caught up. Most of her time had been spent with Ty Lee, so she let her do the talking. She talked enough for the both of them to be sure, so Suki did not mind. Besides, Ty Lee was better at telling stories then she was. Suki sipped at her tea as Katara began telling them how Zuko and Aang were doing with the rebuilding efforts.
"From what I've heard, most of the larger cities have been rebuilt. Save, Ba Sing Se because of the walls."
Suki and Ty Lee nodded in confirmation.
"But they've started moving on to the smaller cities and towns. Though, there are still problems with some of Ozai's old followers but Zuko's men are slowly regaining control of those areas. He's even asked aid of the Freedom Fighters."
"Really?" Ty Lee's eyes were wide with interest, "How are they doing without Jet on the front lines?"
"They're doing fine. Smellerbee and Longshot have taken up the lead until he's fit again to fight. Jet's recovering quicker then I thought he would. "
"We stopped by on the way back," Toph explained, "And Sweetness here worked her waterbending magic on him." She waggled her fingers in the air, symbolizing waterbending.
Katara rolled her eyes; "He's walking on his own now. He won't need the crutches for too much longer. All the scars are still there though…" her voice trailed off as her smile faded.
Suki put a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder, "I'm sure you did everything you could. Besides, from what I've heard about Jet, he'd rather have the scars there to remind him of what happened."
"He's a lot like Zuko in that respect." Katara agreed, "Isn't that right Toph." A smile curved on the water tribe girl's lips.
"Yeah, sure whatever." Toph snorted and Suki could have sworn she had seen the earthbender's cheeks grow pink. But before she could say anything on the matter there was a rush of air and something collided into her.
"SUKI!" his voice cried, as he embraced her tightly.
"Sokka!" She smiled, turning so that she could wrap her arms around his waist and kiss him, "I've been waiting for you."
"I know, " he groaned, positioning himself so that he was next to her, "I would have been here sooner if I hadn't hooked the giant fish that I did." He threw his hands up in the air as he said it then let them fall so that one rested around Suki's shoulders.
A laugh came from Katara's direction, "So you actually caught something this time?"
Sokka scowled, "Yes, my dear little sister. As a matter of fact, I did."
Everyone laughed, except the still-scowling Sokka and Suki poured him some tea. They continued talking and laughing but Suki stayed silent, closing her eyes and leaning into him. He smelled of everything she remember of him, sea water, and fish, and this particular musk that only Sokka had. It was then she realized how much she had truly missed him over the past few months. She smiled in spite of herself. For the first time in awhile, she was happy.