"Then why are you acting so overprotective?" Suki demanded, placing her hands on her hips. The moonlight hit Sokka's face, casting a soft white light glow in the fifteen year olds icy blue eyes.

Sokka's balled fists loosened as his eyes flickered from the moon to Suki. His features in his face softened, and he sighed. "It's so hard to lose someone you care about. Something happened at the North Pole and I couldn't protect someone." Sokka's gaze lowered, and suddenly he found his palms interesting. "I don't want anything like that to ever happen again." He whispered softly, more to himself then to Suki.

She stopped, taken aback by this sudden change of emotion. Then she smiled sadly, "I lost someone I cared about. He didn't die, he just went away." Suki sighed softly. "I only had a few days to get to know him, but he was smart, and brave, and funny…" her lips curled into a smile as she watched Sokka's eyes narrow, and his jaw clench. Suki found it quite amusing that Sokka was jealous, and that he didn't even realize she was hinting that she was talking about him. Boys are so oblivious to the obvious.

"Who is this guy?" Sokka demanded to know, standing. "Is he taller than me?" he attempted to puff out his chest, and make himself seem taller.

"No." her lips curled farther. "He's about your height."

"Is he better looking?"

"It is you, stupid!" the Kyoshi Warrior confessed, standing, throwing up her hands, and challenging him with her brown eyes.

His face fell, all anger diminishing off his face. "Oh." He said weekly, obviously dumbfounded.

He rubbed the back of his neck, a slow rush of heat flowing up to his dark face, staining it with a blush.

Suki attempted to move closer. She felt the breath of the Water Tribe teenager on her cheeks. His scent was a mixture of the salty sea, animal oils, and the essence of the warm sun from his travels. Sokka reached, and cupped one of Suki's cheeks in his palm, his lips brushing hers. The contact was small, and just as Suki closed her eyes, Sokka pulled away, his lips no longer brushing hers.

Sokka sighed, his arm falling back to his side. "Back at the North Pole, there was this girl." He started, avoiding Suki's questioning gaze. "We became close. The Fire Nation attacked the village, and her father told me to protect her..." he trailed off, obviously choking on his own words. Sokka fiddled with his thumbs. "She sacrificed herself to help the moon spirit."

Suki's eyes then averted to the full moon. The two teenagers stared, taking in the size, shape, and brightness of the moon. The bright crater stared back at her, almost in a sickening mock. She felt a pang of grief, and her gaze shifted toward the soft ground. "You loved her, didn't you?"

She heard Sokka sigh, and she felt the pads of his fingertips brush over her chin, and lifted her head up, meeting her gaze.

"Suki," he cooed softly. "I don't really know what I felt back at the North Pole. She was something special to me, but I knew we couldn't be together." His features darken, but before Suki could fully notice, it was gone. "But all I know is; I don't want anything to happen to you. You mean so much to me. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."

Their eyes met, and Sokka's free hand lay on the small of Suki's back, and rested the other in her auburn hair. Her hands rested on Sokka's broad shoulders. She felt lips ghost over hers, and he kissed her, a sweet gesture that didn't last very long.

Suki's pale face flushed, although you could hardly tell through her Kyoshi Warrior makeup. Her eyes darted from the full moon, to Sokka's loving eyes.

"This must be awkward for you, isn't it?" Suki muttered, clearly unable to keep focused after Sokka's sweet peck on her lips.

He caught her gaze on the moon, and his face flushed ever so slightly. He chuckled uncomfortably, "Um, yeah actually."

They both laughed awkwardly for a moment. Slowly, they made their way back toward camp, their fingers interlocked with each others. They left with a soft brush of red in their cheeks, a sparkle in their eyes, and a shine in their lips. They left; heart beats a little quicker then normal. They left, leaving the moon to shine brightly in the dead of night.