Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any related characters. This was written out of enjoyment of the series, and no profit is being made.
Ships: (Romance) Sokka/Yue, Sokka/Suki, Sokka/Ty Lee
Warnings: Character death, angst. Spoilers up to Episode 36, "Appa's Lost Days".
Other Info: Mentions of a hypothetical Season 3.
Clouded Sky
Ever since Yue disappeared into the oasis air, he wouldn't, couldn't stop staring at the moon. He knew the moon before, knews the masks it wore in a cycle. But now he knew every silvery streak that was painted across her surface. He could almost feel her footsteps in his heart as she walked up the Stairs of the Sky to take her place at night. And there she would stand, noble and beautiful and soft in the sky.
He supposes he's still protecting her, looking after her so much. She doesn't need protection so much anymore. She has all the stars.
When they found the Kyoshi Warriors bodies littered around the clearing, torn through with flames and blades, he stopped at Suki's. Her scars were a maze across her skin, and she was cold like the night.
Suki and her friends are the stars. They are small but sharp, and they never stop shining. They protect Yue. She protects them. He hopes they are friends.
Ty Lee joins them with the Prince and his uncle. She says that Uncle Iroh will need a Pai Sho partner, but it doesn't matter much, because she likes him. He has had too much heartbreak. She understands.
But the more they spend time together, the more he gets to like her, trust her. He decides that the Fire Nation isn't all bad after all.
It is when she pushes him out of the way of Azula's blue fire and takes the hit that he realizes he loves her. As he holds her, she smiles weakly, and says, "I'm sorry." He doesn't hear that. He hears Yue's words from the swamp.
"You didn't protect me."
She's the sun now. She shines like the stars and the moon, but she is a little different. Maybe she exchanges words with Yue when one climbs down from the Celestial Staircase and the other climbs up. Maybe she is a little lonely without stars.
He hates the clouds, because they keep him from the sky. They keep him from who he loves, from the memories of happiness. But then he remembers that no matter how high he flies on Appa, he can never touch them.
That is when he loves the clouds, when they hide the sky. It hurts too much to remember.
AN. Poor Sokka. He's a great guy and all...but I couldn't resist this when it popped into my head one day, and I had to run to my computer and type it before it flitted away! I feel really bad now, for making him go through all that.
Something bothered me about this fic, so I didn't want to submit it as a drabble on it's own, but I don't know why. Do you guys think I should take this out of the dump and put it into it's own story?
Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think!
