One- Introduction
"Come on, come on!" she cried dragging him through the crowd. "There's somebody I'd like you to meet!"
Reluctantly, he followed, unwilling to end her rare moment of happiness. "Okay, okay!" he mocked.
"Hey, Suki!" Katara waved at the short-haired brunette. "Come meet my brother!" She screeched to a halt. "Sokka, this is Suki. Suki, this is my brother Sokka."
Suki held out a hand. "Nice to meet you."
He shook her hand in greeting. "You too." Her hand was warm and callused. The grin she gave him sent a tingle down his spine.
"You can let go now, Sokka."
Two- Love
The second time he saw her, he knew he was in love.
He had been walking down the street, and he bumped into her when he turned a corner.
Of course, he fell right on his butt.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she stooped to pick up the items he had dropped. Then, in a clichéd move right out of a story, he reached for the mango she was picking up at the same time. Their hands touched, sending a shock up his arm.
"It's okay. It was my fault, Suki."
She stared at him. After a minute she appeared to have an epiphany. "Oh! You're Katara's brother, Sokka. Right?"
He nodded. "Yeah that's me."
"Well, it was nice to see you again, but I have to-" she gestured behind her in the universal gesture for 'I'm leaving.'
"Yeah. We should meet again later."
She tilted her head and squinted in the bright sun of the market. "Yeah, sure," she agreed with a grin. She started to leave before she felt his hand on her arm.
"How can I find you?"
"Just ask around." She waved over her shoulder as she walked away.
Yep, he was in love.
Three- Light
It was a week after their unexpected meeting in the marketplace, and six days after he decided he was going out of his mind. He was so madly in love that he thought it would kill him. So he had asked around, and found her and arranged to meet her again.
So that was why he was standing in a large clearing in the woods next to a bubbling brook with his mouth hanging open like an idiot.
Suki glanced over her shoulder to see why he had stopped following her. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" He shook his head to bring his thoughts back to the here and now. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" The light streaming through the break in the tree branches shone across her face in a way that took his breath away. The angles of her face were clearly defined, soft and feminine in the afternoon sunshine. Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"It's just…?" she prompted.
"You're beautiful in that light."
"Oh." She blinked, slightly surprised. "Thanks."
Four- Dark
Everything he decided he liked best about Suki was dark. Her hair when it hung in her eyes when she gave him that look, the same one Katara gave him when he told a particularly stupid joke.
Her eyes, when she was angry or sad. Or annoyed with him, or when she laughed…
Her warrior's clothes, coated with dust, after a long day of sparring.
But he also hated the dark. He couldn't read her expression in the moonlight. He couldn't help but worry and fret over her when he saw her costume speckled with dark bloodstains.
And in the dark, he worried she wouldn't know how much he loved her. Because the dark is shaded, shielding things from view, even the brightest sparks of affection.
Five- Seeking Solace
When he heard the knock on his door that night, he didn't expect to see her there.
Her clothing and hair was soaked. The green fabric of her warrior's costume hung off her in what must have been an uncomfortable way. Her hair was limp and tangled. Her makeup was mostly washed away. She must have been fighting and got caught in the storm.
"Hey. Come on in, get out of the rain." He gestured for her to follow him inside.
She sniffled, and he realized she was crying. "Okay. Thank you for your hospitality." She bent her head in gratitude.
"Suki." She looked up. "Are you okay?"
Apparently she wasn't. Throwing herself in his arms, she began to sob. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought the trainees with us. They weren't ready, and we ran into the Fire Nation, and they- they're dead now and it's all my fault." She buried her head in his shoulder and continued to cry.
"Shh," he soothed her, combing his fingers through her matted hair and rubbing her back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "It wasn't your fault
In a matter of minutes, she had dried her tears and was preparing to leave.
"Thank you, Sokka." She spoke with an edge of embarrassment. "I hope to see you soon under more favorable circumstances."
"You don't have to be embarrassed about crying, you know. Just because you're a warrior doesn't mean you have to be strong all the time."
"Yes it does."
"Okay. But it's still raining pretty hard. You're welcome to stay here for tonight."
She flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you. But I would hate to be a burden…"
"Not at all. I'll take the couch."
He thought he saw her frown.
A/N: Don't worry. I haven't forgotten Intuition; I just needed to get some more Sukka fluff out in the Avatar fic-verse. Expect more in the next nineteen chapters. First time writing Avatar fic. Let me know how I did!
