Day 13, Wednesday, Just after midnight
Sokka
"Maaan, it's too hot to sleep."
"Tell me about it," the gruff voice of Zuko came from the opposite end of the room.
"Ow, sorry, did I wake you?" Sokka asked, turning over to squint towards his friend. He could barely see in the dark, but what he did see made it clear Zuko had already been sitting before he spoke.
"Mh, I thought I was the only one awake," Aang mumbled. "If I'd known you were awake, I'd have used airbending to cool the room. Didn't want the draft to wake you."
"You can do that?" Sokka asked, sitting up straight. "Do it! Now!"
"Alright, alright," Aang yawned, getting to his feet. He stumbled over to the window, feeling his way through the room so he would not trip and fall. Taking a deep breath, he raised his arms, then brought them forward, bringing in a strong breeze of cool air. The three boys all sighed happily in unison.
"Tha-ank you, Avatar Aang," Sokka said, flopping back down on his bed. "Let's wait a bit, do that again, and then try to sleep."
"I agree," Zuko said from somewhere at the other side of the room.
"Oh right, did I tell you your prank was pretty good, Zuko?" Sokka asked suddenly. "I'll have to get you back for it, someday."
"It was mostly your sister doing the planning, actually. And Toph helped a lot."
"She didn't like losing, though," Aang laughed, rubbing his arm where a boulder had left a small cut during his short bending battle with Toph.
"Yeah, Suki's the same when we do warrior training," Sokka said, giving an amused snort.
"By the way," Zuko interjected, "I've been meaning to ask... What do you and Suki do when you're not training?"
Sokka fell silent for a while, contemplating. "Well, uh, I guess... Hang out. Talk about stuff, sometimes go for walks. We usually have fun on the beach, when it's hot enough. Why?"
"Oh, nothing really. It just struck me that you don't seem to have a lot in common."
"We complete each other's personalities pretty well," Sokka said, a bit defensively.
"You mean she's a bit serious, while you tend to be more... silly."
"Yes!"
"Me and Katara do a lot together," Aang said, not really noticing the tone of the conversation. "Penguin sledding, playing games, waterbending..."
"I've got plenty in common with Suki," Sokka said, sounding slightly grumpy. "It's the distance that can be a bit... difficult. She still lives on Kyoshi Island, while I spend most of my time in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, or by one of the Water Tribes. Ships just aren't as fast as Appa was, back when we used him for travel all the time."
"Guess I'm lucky," Zuko sighed. "With me and Mai both living in the Fire Nation, we can see each other all the time. Especially now that we're going to be living together."
"Yeah, and Aang has my sister with him whereever he goes."
"I do."
"I'm fine guys," Sokka said, his voice indicating that he did not wish for the conversation to go on any longer. "Really. Aang, give us another blast of fresh air and we'll try sleeping again?"
"Okay Sokka," Aang said, getting to his feet and walking over to the window again. "You know you can talk to us if there's anything."
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
