It was barely midday when the camp was finally settled in. Everyone was still a bit rattled from the attack at the Western Air Temple by Azula, and prone to looking over their shoulders.
None more so than Suki. Even though Azula had been chasing the Team Avatar before she properly joined, she had been exposed to the Princess's depravity on a closer basis than the others.
At first Sokka had attributed her little shivers to cold brought on by her thin prison clothes. He made a note to take her to a nearby town and get her something to help her blend in.
But she continued to shake even despite the warm sun and his offer of a blanket. She'd smiled at his thoughtfulness, but shook her head.
When he was done putting all the necessities in place (not much considering the brief period of time they'd had to grab everything), he studied her for a minute.
She seemed strong enough, but Sokka could see the signs of repressed emotion. It pained him inside to see her hurt in any way. Checking to see that the others were occupied, he crept over to her.
"Hi, Suki. Take a walk with me?"
Her blue-purple eyes stared at him, but she nodded once.
They wandered away from the cliffside encampment, heading towards a secluded wooded area. Stopping under a large tree, the couple looked around at the scenery.
"Y'know, I envy you Earth Kingdomers. We didn't have places like this back home. Nothing but snow for miles around. It got old after a while," Sokka stated.
"I've never really seen snow. Not properly, at any rate. Kyoshi's quite close to the South Pole, but still too warm, it just melts into slush midair. It sounds quite lovely though," she gazed at him.
Sokka gave a short laugh. "You wouldn't say that after a three-day blizzard, let me tell you. You can't even leave the house or your saliva freezes inside your own mouth, sometimes. I knew a guy who got frostbite up his nose from it, once. Icicle snot, he had."
The gross imagery and Sokka's exaggerated expressions coaxed Suki into peals of laughter. Sokka grinned at her.
"Thanks, Sokka. I needed that," Suki leaned into him.
He curled an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.
"No problem. You know that if you're having any problems you can come to me, right? I don't know what you've been through exactly, but if I can help at all then I will."
Suki didn't reply for a moment, just taking comfort from his presence.
"Sorry if I've been a bit off. It's just, seeing her again… Well, it didn't help."
Sokka nodded, tucking her head under his chin.
"Gave us all a bit of a fright, really. She's one crazy girl." He muttered. "Did she… hurt you, at all?"
Suki shifted next to him slightly.
"Not really, to be honest. She burned me a bit when she captured my Warriors and I, but beyond that… Well, she didn't torture me physically. I didn't have any information for her to get out of me, so she just resorted to mental tricks."
She took a deep breath, steadying herself.
"She told me awful things. She said she killed my friends, and the Avatar. That I'd rot in prison forever as the whole world burned. She even said she'd take care of Kyoshi Island personally."
Sokka nuzzled the top of Suki's head, hugging her tightly.
"She told me she had you the day we invaded the Fire Nation. We were so close to defeating the Fire Lord, we even captured her briefly. But she knew who I was - my name.
She said that you'd given up on me. I was so angry, so worried. I tried to get her to tell me where you were, but she wouldn't say. Eventually the eclipse ran out and we had to escape empty-handed. I felt so ashamed," he told her.
She took his hand in hers, staring into his blue eyes.
"She lied. I always had faith that you'd come for me. And you did. When I saw you there, lying on the floor in that guard outfit, I thought it was a dream," she pulled his fingers to her cheek.
"But here we are. And she isn't. But we'll be ready for her, next time. We'll face her together," Suki said.
Sokka smiled tenderly at her, and then drew her into a soft kiss.
"Yes, we will."
He ran his fingers through her short, auburn locks before pushing off the tree.
"We should get back before the others start to worry where we've gone."
Suki giggled.
"Or they get ideas."
Sokka's face crinkled in confusion before realisation set in. He chuckled, gripping her fingers in his.
"Perhaps. Speaking of which, come to my tent tonight at midnight when everyone's asleep."
Suki glanced at him, her lips twitching.
"Midnight, eh? How romantic. I hope you're not planning on taking advantage of this helpless maiden," she teased.
"Helpless? As if. I was bruised for days the first time we met," he rubbed a spot on his arm, remembering the pain.
"Good. At least you learned from it."
Sokka grinned.
"I've learned all sorts of things," he waggled his eyebrows before kissing her again.
"Hey, lovebirds! Settle down and come get some dinner," Toph shouted at them.
"Dinner? Oh good, being chased by psychos really works up an appetite," Sokka patted his stomach.
Suki rolled her eyes.
"You've always got an appetite," she remarked dryly.
"A growing guy like me needs plenty of fuel. It takes work being this manly."
"I bet. Sooner or later you'll stop growing, and then what excuse will you have?"
Sokka considered this.
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he decided.
"You'll end up like Zuko's uncle eventually, I bet," Toph sniggered.
Sokka looked scandalised.
"I don't even like tea."
Not entirely sure who that was, Suki just smiled and pecked him on the lips. The pair sat down joined the others in the circle around the fire.