Okay, I do not know how these always end up so much longer than I intended. Honestly, I am usually one for brevity IRL, but these drabbles really go on and on sometimes.

This idea came to me randomly as I listened to Lord Huron's The Night We Met and so I just started writing. Not my favorite, but I've written worse. lol

Hope you get some enjoyment through the read. I will say upfront, this is a little heavy on the Sukka-front and I switched up my typical style just a bit. Meh -new year, semi-new things?

Thanks to everyone that has read, reviewed, and fave'd at this point –and for hopping over to my one-shot to show it some love. Much appreciated!

Enjoy! 😊

Disclaimer:

I do not own ATLA or any of its characters. If I did, this would not be a fanfiction, it would have been part of the show.

Sokka looked on almost mournfully.

Today was Mai's birthday celebration and an unofficial engagement party for her and Zuko. The whole gang had reunited to celebrate the pair along with the rest of the Fire Nation's nobility and what seemed like countless guests from across the world.

It was a beautiful celebration, he had to admit. The Fire Nation palace ballroom could not have been livelier. But Sokka did not feel so celebratory.

He faked a smile as some of the guests waved at him.

"Why tonight of all nights did they have to throw this party," he grumbled to himself, taking a swing of the liquid in his cup.

He fiddled with the fancy red linen tablecloth covering his table, wishing he had a better distraction but glad to be alone.

His friends were all enjoying themselves.

Of course, Zuko and Mai were the main attraction. Toph was talking loudly, boasting about the success of the Metal Bending Academy to some people he only vaguely recognized. Aang and Katara were practically joined at the hip as they made their way diplomatically around the ballroom. He rolled his eyes.

His breath caught in his throat. And then there was Suki.

I've been wanting to tell you something for a while, Sokka.

Suki was working tonight, still present but on security detail, given the high profile of the event. Not to mention all the diplomatic guests that had made the trek here to give the young couple their best wishes. She had her work cut out for her.

He silently thanked the spirits for the fact that she had to work this evening. Things had been... awkward between the couple in the week that he had been visiting the Fire Nation.

I love you, Sokka. So much. Do you...Do you love me?

He was not really sure how he felt or wouldn't acknowledge it, at least. It was funny, actually. Or maybe not funny, but just a facet of their relationship. They had been together, through long distance, for years now yet they had never said those three words to each other before. Even after all they had experienced together, he had never thought to say it. What really was love, anyway?

A part of him still felt...wrong for even dating her. How could he go as far as to say those words to her? He couldn't tell Suki that, though. So, he walked away.

He turned his gaze to the long windows lining the eastern wall of the ballroom. The moon was out tonight, the light shining in and mixing with the dazzling flames of the chandeliers illuminating the space.

She was watching him as usual. A constant reminder of the reality of heartbreak. Sokka dropped his head.

Do I love you…? I -Those are big words, Suki. I've never...

Somewhere nearby Sokka could hear Aang gush about Katara to a group gathered around him, throwing out the 'L' word like rice at a wedding. He retched internally.

Those two had been inseparable since they had met, and here they were now -in love. It was hard for him to comprehend completely.

You've never said those words to anyone? Really? ...Not even to her?

How could his kid sister and her boyfriend say those words so easily to one another? How did his war-torn friend and the gloomy warrior know they felt it so deeply that they wanted to spend their whole lives together? Each and every day. Forever.

Sokka gulped. Forever was a lot of chances to get his heart broken. A lot of chances to fail.

He heard steps approaching him. Looking up, he saw his sister.

"What's gotten into you," Katara said as she sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Are you feeling okay?"

Well, I never told her outright what I felt…

"I'm fine," choosing to be short with her, hoping to keep her from asking questions.

She didn't buy it.

"No, you're not," the motherly look in her eyes usually drew out the truth from him, "Suki mentioned you two had a... disagreement earlier this week. Maybe it will help to talk about it, Sokka."

He never had any resolve against his sister's gentle nudges. She only wanted to help him feel better and he couldn't blame her for it. Maybe she could be useful in this situation. After all, she had been with Aang for about three years now and they spewed the 'L' word out like a volcano spilling lava. Untempered, ever flowing.

Surely, Katara could help a bit.

"How did you know?"

He chose not to give a premise or prelude to his question. If she had talked to Suki, then she would know what he meant.

But you felt it, didn't you?

Katara gave him a knowing look. She took a breath, fiddling with her hair now.

"How did I know I loved Aang? Had fallen in love?"

He nodded impatiently.

A smile played on his sister's lips as she considered her words, "Aunt Wu told me I'd marry a powerful bender, and you so kindly pointed out to me that Aang was...well, a powerful bender. And so-"

"Wait, wait, wait. You believed that phony?! Seriously, Katara. That's what you let guide you into a relationship with Aang?"

She huffed and furrowed her brow. She put a hand up to stop him from talking.

"No. I am simply giving you a little background information," she said through gritted teeth, "If you hadn't interrupted, you'd have gotten your answer by now."

Arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, she looked like a mother growing impatient with her child. He held both hands up in surrender.

...Yes.

"Okay, okay. My bad. Keep going."

Another huff.

"Thank you."

She tapped her fingers on the table for a moment, "Now, where was I… Oh yes! Well, I had this idea planted but I thought it was silly...Until I didn't. Until I realized that I could meet a hundred so-called powerful benders, but none of them could make me feel the way Aang could. I just needed Aunt Wu's words -and well, yours too- to notice him."

"But when did you know? How? When for sure did you know," he prodded, annoyed that she hadn't given him a straight answer.

How was he supposed to figure things out with Suki without more clarity? He did not need some sappy story about Aunt Wu -really, Aunt Wu of all people!

"Sokka, there isn't always an exact moment. Do I know the very millisecond that my heart told me that I absolutely could not live without him? No. But…," she sighed, "Okay, I guess the moment I realized or began to realize what my heart was feeling…It was the night of the fall of Ba Sing Se. Not when I, I watched him...fall."

She took a shuddering breath. Tears pooled around her irises. Sokka felt a wave of remorse flood him for making her talk about one of the hardest moments in her life.

Katara went on, though.

"It was when he woke up, just after I had used the spirit water from the oasis to revive him. He opened his eyes, and it was like I was looking at my whole world right there, Sokka. In those eyes. Every fiber of my being rejoiced. It -it was beyond my understanding at the time, but I knew something had changed in me."

It's been almost four years, Sokka. Why can't you say those words to me?

"So that's how you knew you loved him?"

She nodded affirmatively.

"But you waited, what, another four, five months before you told him because...what, he still had to prove he was a powerful bender," he could not help the bitter sarcasm in his voice.

She deadpanned then threw her hands up in frustration. He gave her a knowing expression this time. While he had not been privy to everything that had gone on between his sister and the Avatar leading up to their relationship, he knew her hesitation had been a point of contention.

"We were in the middle of a war, Sokka. I couldn't just throw caution to the wind or distract him. I was scared, I didn't kno-"

I don't know, Suki. I...Can we just pause this please?

"Wait, you were scared?"

She exhaled and looked down at her hands.

"Of course, I was," she said softly, "I wasn't drawing things out to be cruel. He loved me; I knew that. And I knew I loved him; I was just scared. The thought of losing him, of admitting what I felt and then having him slip away, was scary. I took my time, yes. But it was to make sure I was really thinking things through for my sake and his."

Katara had sounded exasperated in her response and had gone silent now. Her words landed heavily on Sokka's ears. He absorbed them as he sat and examined his sister. He noted the tension on her face and felt guilty. His guess was that she had made this argument to herself and had gone back and forth about it many times before.

He watched as she gazed around the room, catching Aang's eye from tables away. He grinned and waved sweetly at her. Even from across the room, Sokka could see the love Aang had for Katara in his eyes. As though someone had flipped a switch, his sister's face lit up with a smile right back at Aang.

She turned back to Sokka now. He could almost feel the lightness in her mood after her quick exchange with Aang. It was amazing how they did that to each other.

Pause this conversation? Or pause us?

"I'm scared too, Sis. I just, I don't know what to say to her. After the North Pole, I just...don't know how to go there."

Her hand was on his shoulder again, an understanding smile forming on her face.

"It's been a long time, Sokka," she shrugged, "Look, you and I don't really talk much about the ins and outs of our relationships, but from my vantage point, it's not a matter of whether you care about Suki in that way. I think it is a matter of whether you're willing to be completely open with her about your feelings. This hanging matter of Yue between you two needs to stop. Whatever you felt for each other passed. She has been gone a long time and I don't think she would fault you for loving again. And you shouldn't deprive yourself because of one bad experience."

He gave her a half-hearted smile. Maybe she was right.

"So, what, do I use the 'L'-word card, and everything will be fine?"

A roll of the eyes and one obvious attempt to bite her tongue later, Katara shook her head.

"I think you and Suki need to talk. Really talk. That's what Aang and I did, and it's what we still do. It's hard and scary sometimes to be so vulnerable, but you have to be willing to go there if you want your relationship to work," her statement came out so matter-of-fact that he had to resist the urge to nod in agreement.

He scratched his chin as he considered her words. Sokka wondered out loud when his little sister had gotten so wise.

Katara made a face that was reminiscent of their younger years, before love and relationships came into the picture. A smile cracked on his own face, realizing she was not so little anymore. At eighteen she was in love and giving her big brother advice he so desperately needed.

"I know how Suki feels about you and I think you might be on the same page, but you have to get your warrior face on and face this head-on, Sokka. You know you shouldn't have just walked away from the conversation the way you did."

He nodded solemnly. This time he looked around the ballroom, catching glimpses of the happiness of his friends. Zuko and Mai had found a table out of the way of the guests and were whispering intimately close to one another. Aang was sitting alone at a table; he looked bored, like he was just waiting patiently for his girlfriend to return.

And Suki was looking at Sokka from her post by the head table. She looked so stoic and controlled, a stark contrast to the untethered emotion and vulnerability she had shown just a few nights ago. It broke his heart to think that he had hurt her.

What? No, not -not a break from us. Don't cry, Suki. I just, I can't have this conversation right now.

With that, Sokka slapped his hands to his knees.

"You're right. I have to talk to her about this," he stood abruptly.

Katara stood with him and gave him a tight hug, "Just be honest and open."

"I know," he nodded, "Now, go back to your boyfriend before he starts having withdrawals. Look at him, just waiting for you like a polar-bear-dog pup."

She beamed as she looked back to Aang, whose face perked at the sight of her getting ready to return to him. Katara turned back to Sokka and chuckled.

"I guess we are pretty inseparable, huh," she smiled with giddiness, "Didn't know I could be so lucky."

He rolled his eyes but said nothing as he gestured for her to get going. His sister gladly obliged and made quick work of the space between her and Aang.

Sokka had to admit, the hug the two shared when Katara arrived at Aang's table was pretty cute. Realizing his thoughts, he retched internally again.

"Now, to talk to Suki," he mumbled to himself, determined as he marched to her post.

She saw him approaching and briefly broke her serious expression with a smile. He returned the gesture with surety.

I love you, Sokka.

Welp, that is that. Thank you for your readership!

Until next time!