"Us?" Suki asked, the shine in her eyes fading. "Is there something wrong…well, another thing wrong?" She asked caressing his hands.

He gulped. This conversation the first time hadn't end well, today it could only go worse. Making it there in the open also didn't seem to be the best way to handle it.

"Yes, I mean…No. Well…let me explain in private" He blabbered standing up, trying his hardest not to give her any illusions or more pain. Suki followed with a concerned look, "Moments ago he was crying and now he wants to talk?" She thought, unvoluntary clenching her jaw.

"Is it going to happen again?"

As they walked through the corridors of the palace, she couldn't help but cling into his arm, making him look at her briefly, with a warm smile. She replied with one of her own, both of them slowing their pace. Moments were Suki showed him how gentle and expressive she could be without talking made his heart skip a beat.

Was it fair for her to run away after all the turmoil these last months have been?

As they approached his room, Suki gave him space to open the door. Entering, Suki saw the mess inside, clothes everywhere and the weapon rack on the floor. He closed the door behind them and proceeded to the bathroom. She tiptoed to the bed, waiting for him to enter the room and start the conversation, that, according to the pit growing in her stomach, wasn't going to be a lovely one.

"Maybe you're nervous. Relax" She thought to herself, fixing the headpiece that tilted in the walk.

Putting her hands on her legs, she meditated. She faced the possibility of everything going south, her heart aching at it. She had become attached to him for many reasons, some of them still unknown to her. The thought of losing him had become a fear that increased more and more since they got together. Will she die because of it? Of course not, but…somehow…it will never feel right for her to be apart.

Sokka's weight on the bed made her open her eyes again, exhaling long and heavy. The moment he kept looking at the wall was when the situation came clear to her. He was breaking up again with her. How could she protect him of that darkening Toph told her? She continued to do breathing exercises, unable to contain her tears.

Sokka snapped out of it and immediately got in front of her, in his knees, taking a hand and touching her face.

"No…Suki…don't cry…" He whispered.

"I know where this is heading…" She replied, her tone fluctuating as she spoke

"Please, let me talk first"

Sokka caressed her cheek, guilty. Suki looked at him waiting for the explanation, completely holding her breath.

"I….we, we need to heal first" Suki's eyes widened with tears. "Hey…hey…hear me" He continued while cleaning the streaks from her face, which became messier as the red paint dripped.

"What do you mean heal? I'm completely fine being with you" She said with a poker face, the sadness in her voice betraying her.

"I know. And…the moment we spent apart was when it hit me you're the one to me" He continued "But…I'm not okay. I… I have this issue within me that makes me lose all hope and it is replaced with hatred." He explained.

Suki looked at him, trying her best to follow his point and empathize.

"And… it's not fair to you for me to keep running or jeopardizing the relationship because I have commitment issues. You deserve someone better than me…" his voice broke a bit, making her tear more "Suki, I love you. I adore you with all my being"

"But?..." She said faintly, waiting for him to finish. He looked at her and saw the pain in her eyes again, just like the first time.

"I think is better for us to take a break."

"What's the difference? You're only omitting the last word" She bitterly replied, playing with his fingers.

"No. It's for me to…be better and deserve you". He said grabbing both of her hands, trying to convince her.

"Sokka…What if I want to help you with this? I want to… protect you too. Love is not easy, love is not painless..." She pulled away his hands, opting to grab his face.

He was speechless. Would it be okay if they actually tried it? Maybe it will help them overcome everything that continues after this predicament. But…deep inside, Sokka knew it was better for Suki than for him, as he could happily be her puppy and follow her everywhere.

"Love is reinforced, not abandoned. I remember our vows…" He replied, his heart breaking as he did to hers.

"So? Please…don't go away….please" Suki pleaded.

"I can't do this… not if she is pleading again" Sokka thought with his heart breaking more. Her face moved closer to his, and he was ready for this, one last time before playing with the destiny. But first, he had to make sure his point was taken.

"Suki…" He said with mixed emotion. Stopping her. "A break doesn't mean I don't love you. I'm willing…to take the risk of losing you…so you can be happy again" He continued.

She pulled away with shock. She rapidly blinked.

"I know Suki…you might have developed feelings…for….you know…." He continued. His heart burning as he talked "For Zuko. And…even if we are not in good terms…I know he could take care for you and treat you like…."

"Stop" Suki interrupted, seeing how convinced he seemed. "Even you cannot believe that I love you." She said hurt.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them again as Suki silently cried with her head down. He believed her, partially. The seed of doubt was planted, and while it was dangerous to let her free, he knew Suki will still be his muse, even if she was not perfect.

He approached her, softly grabbing her face. As they looked at each other, memories and happy moments between them came back. He made the first step, closing the space and kissing her. She gently embraced him by the neck while he put his hands on her waist. It was not desperate nor deep the kiss, in fact, it was welcoming and hopeful.

The last time they kissed like this was on the boiling rock. As they pulled away, the feeling of a bright future arose in them, making them smile.

"I will miss kissing you" She huskly said, wiping the red stain from his lips.

"Not for long" He flirty replied, combing her hair with his fingers. She stood up to leave the room, giving him a last smile before tip toing at the door, leaving him alone at the room. He hugged himself, almost trying to not let his heart fall out of his chest.

"We will be okay" He replied out loud. Soon he coughed again, splatting his hand with dark liquid.

Suki walked slowly, as if getting closer to Ty Lee might make her cry. For the first time, she thanked the corridors to the main room were long and far away from the bedrooms. Her head felt light and heavy, her mixed emotions playing with her own way of living day to day. Sure, it was not the first time she was alone, but being alone and so close to him was no exactly how she pictured herself.

As she got closer, she could hear Zuko dismissing Ty Lee. "Great" She thought, entering without showing the emotional distress she was in. Her face as emotionless as she uses to look intimidating.

Zuko, Toph and Ty Lee looked at her, waved and continued their talking. Ty Lee got close to hug Suki, which she immediately resisted in fear of crying in front of everybody.

"No no! It's okay! You see me every day ha ha" Suki roughly said evading the arms of the acrobatic girl. The later got closer to talk to her ear.

"I'm sorry. The moment you entered the room I saw how you aura was all black. I thought that would help you get better" She said now looking at her. Suki blinked rapidly, trying to shake the sensation. She coughed and tried to resume the conversation in another direction.

"So…where did Aang and Katara go? I think I might need to apologize" She asked, eyeing the room.

"Oh…" Ty Lee replied a bit loudly. Zuko and Toph now focused on the girls conversation, scooting closer. "They went to their rooms. Aang seemed a bit…grey" She said mimicking with her hands the thickness of the grey cloud in the Avatar silhouette.

"Right…"Suki said awkwardly, now that Zuko and Toph listened.

"Suki…why did you say that to Katara?" Toph asked, her voice demanding to know something she might have not noticed.

The warrior just gulped, not wanting to defame the waterbender. It were mere suppositions, or maybe a really hidden truth inside her.

"I don't know…" She lied, fully knowing Toph would catch it. As planned, the girl lifted her head and "looked" at the warrior, frowning. She continued talking "FireLord, isn't today the reunion with the other lords?"

Zuko looked at her curiously. "Yeah, in an hour. Is there a rush?" He asked, caught in the curiosity of her words towards Katara.

"No, time flew and I thought we were late. My apologies" She replied without looking at him, instead focusing on the wall in front of her. Ty Lee moved to Zuko's side and looked at Suki too, making her turn around to face them.

Toph walked away, lifting her hand as she walked to dismiss herself. As the trio continued chatting about their duties to fill for the day.

She walked around trying to find her friends rooms. At first the helpers tried to guide her to them, and maybe for the first time, telling them softly she was fine and didn't need help. She continued walking for a little longer until she found it. Knocking loudly at the door 6 times, a code they had invented a while ago.

"Come in!" A muffled voice said.

Toph opened the door and entered the room without closing it.

"hEY! Can you close it?" Sokka asked lifting his head from the pillows. Toph scoffed and closed it, she sat by the edge of the bed, ready to hear his friend talk.

"So…how are you?" She awkwardly asked.

"It's okay, you don't have to babysit me again" Sokka said with a smile, sitting on the bed.

"Sure? You…kinda exploded like that time" Toph looked at him (Guiding herself with the sound of his voice) and sat beside him.

"Yeah… I guess I got older and…matured a bit more. We talked it" He replied patting her head. "Thanks for checking out, I honestly thought Katara would come first"

They both laughed, continuing talking about their adventures before finishing the 100 year war: Starting from the day they visited Omashu to when they found Toph. Both heartly laughed, being comfortable with each other as brother and sister would do, even if at times Toph's crush did not want to concede, growing and dying depending on her mood.

Toph laid down on Sokka's legs, her face apparently looking at him. He blushed a bit at the clear view of his younger friend, finding it hard to deny how pretty she was growing out to be. He stared at her unsure of the chat they would had.

"Did Suki talked to you?" Toph asked.

His body tensed at the mention of her name. "Yeah…is she okay?" He asked concerned

Toph's face contorted with confusion.

"I guess? She wasn't crying or screaming, we even got to chat about…something she said earlier about Zuko's duties" She replied.

"Oh, I see" Sokka said, his voice showing the deception. The silence invaded the room for a while, Toph not wanting to pressure him to talk if he didn't feel ready yet.

Toph couldn't help notice his usual warm body was colder. She reached for his hand to confirm the temperature, who was just below the usual warmness. Sokka let her do whatever she felt like, as he was used to being the "dummy" to her news ways of sensing people. He sighed and threw his head at the wall, closing his eyes with a knot on his throat.

"I think…she likes Zuko" Sokka said, making Toph gasp. "Maybe she doesn't want to see it or she doesn't know it…yet."

Toph kept silent, unsure if giving him the information she heard at the main room would help him at all.

"And…" He continued, gripping her hand tighter. "I told her we needed a break from each other so I could get better." He finished, silent tears coming out of his face.

Toph sat beside him again, her hands searching his face to clean the tears. Now she was sure she couldn't tell him that he was right, knowing how it would affect him. Sokka kept his eyes closed, smiling at the accidental slaps Toph gave him while searching for his eyes.

He helped her brushed them and sighed. Slowly drowning on the fact that this break could probably be forever.

"Don't think about that right now. First you need to get better" Toph tried cheering him up, unsure on how to proceed.

"I know. That doesn't mean that she might lean towards him. She is not a dependent girl but… love can always grow on the weirdest places. Who knows all it took for her to…"

"Sokka" Toph interrupted "Did Suki said she liked him or are you assuming?"

"Well, I don't need any more details about that night nor it feels right to discuss it with you because…"

"Because I'm younger so what, I have the legal age to marry. Get over it, that's how babies are made" Toph said annoyed to keep being seen as the small child.

"Right.." Sokka awkwardly continued, not wanting to imagine Toph like that. "As I was saying, even I can see the attraction these to have to each other. Why wouldn't she? He is a saint compared to me"

"None of you are saints if you ask me"

"That's why I didn't ask you"

The earthbender jokingly punched him in the arm, laughing with him. Her crush seemed to keep growing when taking care of him, even if it felt at times like a burden.

"Well, if she leans on Zuko you can always lean on me" she said turning away from him, a blush creeping on her face.

The tenderness of her voice was enough to make Sokka blush too. The sensitive, caretaker Toph was one that always amazed him, even if it happen to come out on his worst time. He got closer to her and hugged her from behind. She sighed, placing a hand in his, maybe the only time she might be that close to him.

"Thank you Toph" He said tightening the hug and feeling for the first time, her heartbeat.

Toph only smiled, liking the feel of him behind her. She could be bold and straightforward and kiss him but… that would make a horrible friend from her, taking advantage that he was delicate. Her thoughts were interrupted as Sokka pulled away from her and sat by her side.

"So…Any boys you might like?" He said mockingly, his elbow touching her arm. She punched him in the same arm blushing, sensing he might have an idea of her feeling towards him.

"Bored with your own story?" She said with a grin.

"As if! Hopefully in yours we have a happy ending" He replied waiting for a reaction, laughing at the moment Toph went red.

"Yeah right, are you that blunt to even see mine is one sided?" She teased, turning her body towards him.

Now he blushed, unsure if the hint was right or he was only feeling lonely.

"What? Who is that guy? A guy who turns down the greatest earthbender in the world? Miss Toph Beifong?" He teased, his body tensing.

Toph pulled her bun and let her hair down, pulling closer to him.

"I know right? He's missing it" She laughed, putting a hand on his. Now, Sokka was not blind to deny her beauty, the closeness feeling different to their moments as buddies. His own heart maybe yearned for another female interaction as to, perhaps, try again to pull Suki out of his heart.

Toph felt guilty but…she had to take her shot. Maybe…just maybe, this could help her stop or continue his feelings towards him. One kiss didn't kill anybody before. She placed her other hand in his face, one finger playing with his cheek. Sokka's heart was confused, sure, it felt nice having someone flirt with him but… Toph?

"Toph?..." He said a bit breathless, unsure of the difficulty at voicing his doubts.

"Yes?" she replied. "Am I too close?"

"You do look really pretty" He thought, biting his own lip to stop his impulse. He was not a dog so he could control his carnal actions… right?

"No…I mean…a…" He stumbled in his words, nervousness growing. Toph crept closer, their faces closer than he had ever remembered in his life.

"May I do something?" She asked, her finger now playing with his lips.

This was new. His body reacting in ways he never thought would react to her. It felt wrong and prohibited and that…that made him want it to explore it. He knew she could sense most of him, weirding him a bit.

"Wha…what do you want to do?" He asked, tensing.

"Relax, it will take me less than 10 seconds" she said with her usual tone. She pecked his cheek, and put a hand on his chest, feeling his reaction and only imagining his face. His mouth dropped open… "Yep, I'm his crush" he thought with a swirl of emotions inside.

"Is…is that it?" He asked, trying to ignore his own reaction to her.

"Can I kiss you? On the lips I mean" She said bluntly, smiling at the huge gasp of air Sokka took

"Wh..what?" He said shocked, not translating the language.

"No compromise. I just…wanted it to be kind of special but sorry. I know this might feel weird to you" She said pulling away from him, until Sokka grabbed her wrist.

"It is weird let me clarify" He said breathless, still processing everything. "But, I… If I kissed you I fear it might make worse your crush on me and I don't want to tag you along"

"I know" Toph said "I would never put myself between you and Suki, I do like her and I think I'm her friend"

Sokka thought about it.

"Alright, just one kiss" He said hiding his face on his hands, unsure of why he was allowing her to do it. Toph looked shocked, thinking she would never get that far in her short life. He got over it and exhaled, taking his hands towards the earthbender.

"Ready?" He said, waiting for consent.

"Sure" She said playing it cool, feeling cold inside at the nervousness.

Toph stood still as Sokka brought his face closer to hers, feeling weird about the whole process, trying to focus on the beauty of his friend. He closed his eyes as their noses touched, nervous. He slowly pressed his lips on hers, squinting his eyes. Not wanting to ruin her experience, he started thinking about other things until the warrior crossed his mind.

Toph didn't felt close to what he felt towards her islander, sure, his body felt similar, but nowhere close.

He pulled apart, their breaths in each other faces at the nervousness. Toph spoke first.

"Can…you do it longer?" She innocently asked. Sokka nodded with his head, feeling now more confident on his skill. They kissed again. He could feel how tense she felt and tried to calm her by putting a hand on her face, as he did to Suki. Their lips moved slowly, as if the closeness they both had was more of a safe space to hide than of passion.

Sokka could get used to this, but not at Toph's expense, as hurting her would made him feel like shit. He pulled away, blushing.

"Is that okay?" He asked in a lower tone, sending chills to the earthbender. His hand still on her face.

"I could…use a bit more of time. To practice" She replied, her pale face red.

"Okay…" Sokka said leaning in again, resuming the kiss and embracing her.

Suki and Ty Lee walked side to side, in silence. She wanted to trust her in what had happened earlier that day, but her mouth could be reckless and at times…she just said too much. After being dismissed when the second round of kyoshi warrior came, she was without and idea of what to do next. Should she go and search for Katara and Aang? Should she hang out with Toph? Should she spar with Sokka?

"Suki, are you okay?" Ty Lee asked again, signaling her aura again. Suki sighed, the worry on her face showing.

"I'll tell you in my room" She replied taking her hand and running.

As they entered, Suki prepared the water to put their make up off. Ty Lee started taking her armor off, pressing on the issue.

"What's wrong? Did Sokka told you something?" She asked, halfway through her change.

Suki froze at Sokka's name, resuming the undressing and changing, unable to spit it out.

"So he did tell you something. Are you okay? Did he shout at you too?" she kept asking, sitting at the chair waiting for the towels. Suki then got closer to her with the towels, facing the mirror to start cleaning her face.

"No, I'm not okay and I don't know how to feel. He doesn't believe me I love him, he has in his mind this idea that I might like Zuko a bit more than friends" She said it at once, frowning to not cry.

"But…you do like Zuko" Ty Lee replied, already putting on make up.

Suki looked at her through the mirror angered.

"Why is everyone saying that?" She asked.

"The connection you both have is something else Suki. You do have a stronger one with Sokka, but it can change with time" She said now looking at her. "He hurt you and you found a safe space with him, and…well, you told me you had issues with that. Opening up to people"

"Well…yeah…" she replied thoughtfully as she placed her headpiece in the wooden table.

"You have…uhm…issues with man since you were a child. Maybe…just maybe…you can get help with that" Ty Lee said trying to cheer her up. Suki looked at her oddly, uncomfortable at remembering she told her about her dad.

"And how could I get help?" She asked.

"Tell him. Your hormones and issues might have made a conecction that is fake. He will surely understand the moment you tell him that" Ty Lee said grabbing the red paint to put in on Suki's mouth.

Suki thought about it. "Well…that's not a bad idea. Might try it later."

"Hey…"

"Shh, I'm prepping you to go and tell him now" Ty Lee said cleaning the corner of her mouth.

"How long have we been like this?" He asked in an euphoria.

"Dunno, long enough for you to….hmmm…" She replied patting his member.

"Woa woa woa hold on" Sokka said sitting up, trying to place Toph where she would not touch it.

"Relax, I'm not after it" She replied sitting still on him, her hands wrapped around him.

"Right….Ouch" He whined after the punch the lady gave her. "Do you want to continue?"

"Continue as if kissing or…"

"Kissing yeah" He quickly replied, nervous at the more sexual suggestion. He was not against it, especially at the state he was, but he didn't want to pressure her to do anything to intimate, as he thought that was reserved to her actual partner.

"Yeah, sure" Toph said, waiting to be kissed again.

In the last hour their kisses have deepened, overall playing with fire between them. Toph crush was a more physical one, feeling relief that it was nothing more intimate, but hey, their actions felt good to her so why not continue.

She moved her hips to be a bit more comfortable, making Sokka unvoluntary moan. They both stopped kissing, blushing.

"Ah…a….sorry" He apologized, not looking at her eyes even if he knew she was blind.

"Don't sweat it…I moved. Sorry" She apologized too, her tension rising. She tried to resume kissing him, instead kissing his neck.

"Ahh…Toph…" He moaned, trying to move her. "I thought we were only kissing"

"Do you want to only kiss in the lips? I never said where" She said continuing her exploration, liking this new Sokka. He gulped and hugged her, low tone moans coming out of him.

Then the door opened.

"Heyyy fellow human, human fell…"

And both turned fast towards it, guilty. Toph immediately stood up to feel who was at the door.

"Suki…" Sokka immediately stood up, trying to chase after her.

"Stay away from me" She said in a whisper. Toph could feel her gaze burning into her, sensing a look that might kill.

"If you wanted him you could have told me. I don't mind sharing as long as you ask" Suki said towards Toph, disappointment in her voice.

"I…I don't even want him. Is not what you think Suki, let him explain" The eathbender replied with shame, maybe, for the first time.

"Save it" The warrior said turning away. Sokka grabbed her hand trying to stop her.

"Please let me…"

A punch flew. Sokka looked shocked. The door was now with a hole, her hand shaking with blood and wood.

"I said, stay away from me" Suki said, pain and anger in her eyes. "We are on a break, it was a mistake coming here"

She pulled her hand away from his and pulled out the one at the door. She turned around and walked, trying to cool herself from the sight and events.

"Oh Agni, I am gonna die alone" She though, saving her tears.

Sokka looked at Toph and plumped to the floor, anger welling on him. Of course it was not her fault, he should have been an adult and stop the situation from escalating. Toph walked towards the door and closed it.

"I am sorry" She said, sitting in front of him.

"It…it was not your fault. I'm the adult here" He replied, burying his head between his legs. He coughed in it, dark matter on his tunic.

"Let's not do that again" She said, placing a hand on his arm. His hand grabbed hers, squeezing it.

"I'm glad to had helped you" He replied without resentment.

She was lost.

She walked around in circles on the halls, fading in her mind instead on following the route to her room. Not that she cared, but evading the whole gang was the best thing to do now.

"Suki?"

She turned around and saw Aang, his eyes looking at her bloodied hand, worrying showing in his face after. It was too much of everything for the day, she was tired.

"Suki!"

She ran away, even if he could caught up with her. She ran as fast as she could, feeling liberated. Until she crashed.

"Suki? Are you…"

She saw his face, those amber eyes that were warm and familiar. What a hypocrite she was.

"Take me to your room, please, I don't want to talk to Aang" She pleaded, her eyes watering of the emotions.

Zuko quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her in the room, closing the door and searching for the secret corridor. As he heard Aang voice, he fastened and found the secret one, signaling her to enter with him.

He grabbed her good hand and guided her, his fire helping them see in the dark. The almost ran towards his room. Opening the door again, carefully placing down the painting and letting her in was the easiest part, the challenge was to cure her hand.

Her nose and eyes were red of the tears she shed as they walked, she bit her lip trying to control herself.

"Oh Suki" He said hugging her. She cried into his shoulder, hugging him back. He broke the hug, running to the bathroom and quickly coming back with some bandages. He helped her place a temporal bandage on her hand before lying down on his bed, again, cuddling.

He placed soft kisses on her head, trying to ease her. It came natural to him to take care of her, to be strong enough to listen to her.

This night it wouldn't be different, and if he had to guess, the topic would be the same.

"Now…what he did this time?" His voice growled a bit, jealous and angered at how he seemed to treat her, even if he was not in his right mind.

"He…he and Toph…" She choked.

"Sokka and Toph?!" He repeated surprised and angered.

"I didn't even stayed for the explanation" She muttered against his chest "We are on a break so maybe is not wrong…"

"wait…you are in a break with him? Why?"

"I….he…he wanted it to be better" Suki said crying louder, Zuko took the hint and he shut up, hugging her against his chest instead.

"This will be a long night again" Zuko thought, placing another kiss on her head.

Small " The last dragon" reference there :P my fellow humans. Never in my life I thought I would use Tokka in a story but i liked the result. Next chapter we will focus on the issue in Kataang and what will happen between Zukki/Sukka

Happy Xmas!