Prompt: Stitches
Hurt Character: Aang
Comforting Character(s): Suki
Characters: Aang, Suki
Relationships: Aang + Suki open to interpretation
Warnings (Aside from the Self-Evident): None
Other Tags: Post-canon
Continuity: Can be read as a sequel to "All Sides", but can also stand alone

"Oh man, I really miss Katara." Even as he said it, though, Aang's eyes widened. "Oh no, Suki, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean—"

"It's fine," Suki reassured, lifting the cloth she'd been pressing to his arm so she could check the bleeding. "To be honest, I'm really missing Katara right about now too."

Aang giggled, though more from nerves than from genuine humor. He knew as well as she did that they could not leave it as it was, and without a water healer, tending even a minor wound probably wasn't going to be pleasant.

They were on their way to help mediate the secession of one of the last remaining Earth Kingdom colonies, but as they'd been breaking camp that morning, they'd been surprised by a group of bounty hunters who'd claimed to have been hired by Ozai loyalists. Though they'd thankfully gotten out mostly unscathed with the help of the elements and a few well-placed chi blocks, a single well-aimed throwing knife had managed to find its mark, and Aang hadn't even felt it until Suki had told him that he was bleeding.

They were more than a day's flight away from the nearest marked town, and their route wasn't even taking them close to the nearest marked town. At the moment, their options were either to take a detour to find a healer, or push through as planned and hope for the best until they got where they were going. In the end, they'd both agreed that they didn't want to take the political risk of showing up late to such an important event, and since Aang's wound wasn't immediately life-threatening, they could afford to wait a day to get it properly seen to.

Absolutely none of that meant that Suki was going to let it just sit and fester.

"You… do know what you're doing, right?" Aang couldn't help but ask as he stretched out his still-bleeding arm. "Um… no offense, I just—"

"For something like this?" Suki smiled slightly, and thankfully seemed more amused than offended. "Oh, I think so. After all, studying field medicine is a mandatory part of the Kyoshi Warriors' training."

"Mm." Aang hummed and looked away as she got out her kit and began cleaning the wound, and then, just for the sake of having something to distract him, decided to ask the obvious. "How come?"

"For exactly this sort of situation." Suki still sounded amused. "If we're in the middle of the wilderness and one of us gets hurt, we might not be able to put her back together all on our own, but we need to be able to at least keep her alive long enough to get her to a proper healer. At minimum, that means being able to stop the bleeding and to keep a wound from getting infected." Out of his peripheral vision, Aang could see her sitting back on her heels, though she did not release his arm. "Speaking of which, this is going to need stitches, and if you're okay with me doing that, I'd rather not leave it until the end of the journey."

"It's okay." Aang turned his head to flash her a brief grin. "I trust you."

"Good." Suki was already threading a needle. "Because this is going to hurt."

"Do you get hurt often?" he asked quietly.

"Sometimes," she confessed. "We are warriors, after all, and just a few years ago we were right in the thick of the fighting."

"I guess I never really thought about that," he said, and then hissed in pain as she got started.

"Sorry. I know enough first aid to get by in a pinch, but I guess I don't exactly have the most delicate touch."

"'S all right." Aang faced Suki just long enough to shoot her a grin. "I've had a lot worse, after all. I mean, have you even seen my back?"

Suki hummed an affirmation, but didn't respond out loud; he guessed that she was concentrating. A few moments passed before either of them spoke again.

"I guess that I never realized before what sort of danger you were putting yourselves in to help out with the war effort," Aang said at last. "The Kyoshi Warriors always seemed to be… well, almost invincible."

Suki laughed. "Trust me, we're just as human as you are." A pause, as she seemed to consider. "Well, considering that you're pretty much a god incarnate, you might even say that we're more human than you are."

"Suki, please don't say that. Being the Avatar is… I'm not a god, and I'm not infallible. People always look to me like I have all the answers, but even after all these years, I still sometimes feel like I'm just a kid who doesn't have the first clue what I'm doing."

"Aang, I—oh no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that—"

"I know you didn't." Aang gave her a smile, to reassure her that he wasn't angry. "But, Suki… I need you especially to understand that I'm human. The rest of the world is already looking at me like I'm some sort of god. What I really need is someone I can be vulnerable with." He gestured to his arm, where Suki had just finished tying off the final suture.

"Well, if that's what you need from me, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Just… be sure that you tell me when I slip up. Otherwise I'll never learn."

"Of course. Just as long as you'll do the same for me." He held out his arm so Suki could bandage it.

"There," she said as she finished tying it off. "You'll probably still want to see a real healer once we reach civilization, but it should be okay just as long as you keep it clean."

"Thanks, Suki." He smiled. "You might not be able to heal, but you shouldn't sell yourself short either. This is still better treatment than I could have gotten from most other people."

"I'll try to remember that. For now, though, how about we get some sleep? We've still got a long way to go."

When the sun rose, the morning dawned on them curled up side by side in Appa's fur. They had not moved all night.

A/N: When it comes to matters that don't directly involve fighting, I tend to headcanon the Kyoshi Warriors as "jack of all trades, master of none". While they're not experts in everything by any means, they do tend to know a lot of basic survival skills.