Ever since Katara cracked open that very special iceberg so many months ago, it seemed as if there was nary a single moment spent alone between the two water tribe siblings. Growing up, Sokka and Katara were the only kids within their age range in the entire village. They not only shared the bond of brother and sister, but also that of best friends. Yet as their lives grew hectic with the insurgence of fire nation and avatars, it seemed as if all the quiet moments shared between the two siblings faded away.
Sokka did not blame Katara for slipping away. An entire world of bending, never before known to the water tribe girl, was opening up before her. Sokka, while never held Katara back from exploring her powers in the past, he never fully supported her efforts, either. It was with that thought in mind, that Sokka could only blame himself as he saw Katara laughing at Toph and Aang's antics over the low glow of the campfire, while never even shooting him a second glance. Katara leaned into Aang, ignoring the blush low on the avatar's cheeks, her eyes sparkling gleefully. Feeling fully out of place, and perhaps even a bit unnecessary, Sokka rose from the fire side.
The boy had no destination in mind, but even Sokka could not escape his roots, and therefore it was no surprise that Sokka ended up on the water's ledge. Sokka nearly did a double-take at the reflection before him. It had been a long while since Sokka really sat and stared at himself, but he did not expect to have changed so much. In just a few short months, his arms, before just skinny twigs, now had some serious definition. To match that definition was a strong jaw, fit more for a man than a boy. In the rippling water, his image reflected back from the moonlight, Sokka finally realized just how much he had also changed.
"Here I finally thought you had stopped making muscles at yourself in the water," Katara's voice broke Sokka from his musings. Sokka turned and grinned at his sister, who beamed right back.
Katara walked forward to stand next to her brother, unable to resist bumping his shoulder with her own. "Where did you go? We miss you at the fire."
Sokka shrugged. "Just thinking." Katara scrunched up her face, before turning to stare at the reflection of the pair.
Two tan faces stared back. Outside of the South Pole, their water tribe coloring looked exotic, but standing side by side, the two siblings just looked right. There was nothing exotic between them. It was comforting seeing that bit of home so starkly written out before them.
"Hey Sokka," Katara spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. "Do you think I'm pretty?"
Sokka turned to gape at his sister, who was still scrutinizing her face in the reflection with a scrunched up nose. "What? Wait, WHAT?"
"Ug, never mind." Red rose high on Katara's cheeks as she refused to acknowledge her brother.
It was obvious that whatever thoughts filled Katara bothered her. Chewing the inside of his cheek, Sokka thought carefully about how to proceed.
"Katara," Sokka started out slowly, "did you think mom was beautiful?"
Katara whipped her head around, and stared at Sokka in shock. "Of course she was! She was the most gorgeous woman in the entire Southern Water Tribe. I don't know how you could ask something like that."
"Well then I'm confused how you could ask something like that, because you look just like mom."
After a moment of stillness, a smile melted onto the water tribe girl's face. Katara slung her arms around Sokka's shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you."
"Yeah, well," Sokka shrugged his sister off, trying to save a little bit of face. A look of realization suddenly dawned on his face. "Wait, why did you want to know?"
Katara's blush returned ten-fold.
"Katara, this better not be about a boy," Sokka warned, "because there is only one boy we know."
At Katara's silence, Sokka groaned. The song of the crickets swarmed around the pair, and as the night grew loud, everything was right in the world for the water tribe siblings.