Chapter 96: Our Happy Beginning
They oscillated between the physical and spiritual realms. Their brief transitions felt like fever dreams; visions of the other spirits providing Tui the welcome and recognition that Tui truly deserved, various snippets of faces, smiling and tearing up. Countless spirits beaming and bowing to the two primal personified energies that spewed all that existed with their union. The joy of reunion flowing through all that ever was, is, and will be. For the lovers, it was never a long immersion into the Spirit World; that would have to wait until much later, when they finish living out the delights of the physical world that they have yet to really start indulging in. For the time being, they merely transitioned back and forth for short bouts of time, a few minutes at the most. And as they continued to enjoy each other, it continued to rain, rain, and rain some more in their abode— a personification of much-repressed passion expressing itself to its fullest.
The rains stopped in the rest of the tribe, though, days into what they referred to as the Great Merge of the lands, and yet, the waters were turbulent and the sky stubbornly cloudy. In the vicinity of La's protectiveness of the moon, these dark days of the Water Tribe were spent facing a daunting task: conducting a month-long process of securing votes from the lands merged and held together by portals— once the separate territories of Republic City, the Foggy Swamp, the North, and the South— regarding their status as a single country or separate territories. The various plans, having been laid out by what the tribefolk referred to as "La's Laws," were laid out before the public and were announced via radio, and upon the insistence of the Avatar, responses were to be given as immediately as possible.
These were not the only orders that were carried out with immediate effect; the Water Tribe Bill of Laws was duly updated, which meant that certain laws had undergone changes or were taken out altogether. Nearly seventy percent of the current council of ministers and generals of the North was replaced by more competent candidates. Out of the fired candidates, several were imprisoned for crimes against the Spirits while others like Kahuna Minnuk and his band of religious leaders were transferred to other Arctic villages, no longer allowed to serve in the city's prominent spheres of influence. The case for the South was similar, too; several members from the Council of Elders were removed, Bato being one of them, and from the Order of the White Lotus, Sentry Len was removed. Along with these changes, there was a precaution taken, too: the presence of "rabid wolves" in the snow forest, whether it was officially confirmed or not, nevertheless presented danger to those who got too close to it. Whether the forest contained the spiritual presence of Tui and La was up to individual opinions and beliefs, but for the most part, the forest was meant to be left alone. Aang and Katara, despite knowing the actual truth, presented themselves as being ambivalent about the matter.
In the meantime, the people of the merged territory grieved for their lost chieftain and hidden god. It was unfathomable to many. After all, how could the average tribesperson easily digest the fact that the Spirit whose vengeance destroyed the Fire Nation navy and saved the Water Tribe embodied itself in the form of a human? And that, too, as Sokka? It was no wonder that the man lived a miserable life here in the physical world without Tui, many thought.
And in the wake of things slowly returning to what one could conceive of "normalcy" at a time like this, such grief presented itself in explosions of art centered on the story of the moon and her lover. Everyone told the story differently. Some envisioned a sentimental reunion of the lovers. Some envisioned Sokka's disappearance in the wake of his finally-snapping sanity. There were some who stepped into fantasies of a kind of self-realization process that the warrior might have undergone from his involvement with Shaman Kuhna's black magic. Or perhaps being consumed by black magic opened his eyes to the truth of who he was living for, who he was destined to reunite with.
The core theme of pining lovers, one in the sky and the other as the seas, spun across paintings capturing the essence of the moon goddess's leaning rays and the ocean god's reaching waves. Plays rectifying petty confusions, providing their own interpretations for missing pieces, all of them accompanied by ballads and poems. A plethora of tapestries were woven into existence to include the image of La alongside Tui. Of Sokka alongside Yue. One such tapestry hung in the partially-rebuilt halls of the Northern palace: an image of dark and light entities bearing symbols of each other's hues on their chests, their arms inextricably intertwined. The smiles on their faces gave away their identities— amused world parents looking down at the millions of hands outstretched for them. The moon princess and her warrior. Tui and La themselves who have taken human births, leading lives of sacrifice and devotion, overcoming the obstacles presented by society and reuniting in the clouds.
These were the stories that the people whispered amongst themselves in the mornings. These were the stories that the children of the tribe were told before they were taken by sleep.
They memorized each other in wild abandon again and again, legs intertwined, bodies on the verge of merging. Her milky fingers ran across his collarbone, traveling downward a little before sliding across his pecs. He gave her a little smile, his head tilting curiously as she absentmindedly drew little swirls resembling waves over his dark skin. The hand he kept around her waist trailed up her bare back before perching on her shoulder, then sliding down her clavicle until his fingers dipped into the sheet that she had wrapped around her, reaching for the swell of her bosom. She gave a soft slap to his wrist in reprimand, earning an amused snort, but he saw that she wasn't as playful as he would've liked to see her. She only looked distressed once her fingers found themselves tracing over the rough skin that bore her name.
"The ocean should always have a smooth surface," she thumbed away the drizzles of rain on his skin.
"It also has ridges deep in it," he pointed out, brushing his nose against hers, but she didn't buy the explanation.
"I can heal it, you know," she shifted in his arms, sporting a determined frown, "Let me heal it."
"But I like it like this."
"You and your silly traditions."
He traced her lips with his finger. "It doesn't even hurt."
"It ruins your skin—"
"No it doesn't," his arm sought purchase around her, his thumb drawing circles on her lower back. "I'm at my best when I hold your reflection."
"You already have a piece of me in you," her hand rested on his sternum, which faintly glowed, coloring her already-glowing hand with more milky luminosity.
"That tiny peace is my entire life, no doubt," he held her hand against his heart, "but if it was really enough, none of this would've happened."
It wasn't until a couple of days later that the Water Tribe would see the actual first rays of moonlight— a waxing gibbous, symbolic of creation and fruition— grace the sky after a very long time. The waters calmed significantly, swaying back and forth in a rhythmic welcome for Tui. Many of the tribefolk saw that the dark spots on the moon— her collective piece of La— appeared darker and more visible, making the moon appear brighter in contrast, and the reflection of the moon in the sated waves was very luminous, bringing out the darkness of the night waters in contrast. Many took this as a sure sign that the lovers were reunited.
And this was confirmed by other signs, too. Occasionally, a tribesperson or two would be manning a gondola or catching a few fish here and there only to be whisked away from reality by mesmerizing illustrations made within the aurora: paintings in the sky of two children— a girl with long, ankle-length hair and a boy with a messy wolf-tail— playing around, chasing one another and falling together into the clouds, which served as their snowy fields. Some people in Republic City swore they saw the shadows of two teenage lovers beneath the moon, walking across Yue Bay with linked arms on a night stroll; the lovers' presence was never clear to the eyes gawking at them, the image always fleeting like rippling water or fading dust. Two tribeswomen once took notice of a young couple, their silhouettes ethereally-crafted, sitting together in the clouds, smiling and laughing and swinging their legs before disappearing with the blink of an eye. Old Man Kang from Kang's Custards recalled serving two customers one night: a husband and wife whose faces were covered by mufflers and who couldn't keep their hands off of each other. The vendor didn't think much of them until he noticed from a considerable distance that the lady who was straightening her cloak possessed white hair, and as he ran up to them, screaming for Tui and La at the top of his lungs, they faded away like apparitions, holding hands. Another lady claimed to have run into a similar couple, who saved her three year-old daughter from accidentally toppling into the water in the swamp, only this time, the couple disappeared mysteriously by the water as if taken away by the waves.
These instances convinced the people that they were not alone. That they were not abandoned. That they were likely pardoned by the Spirits, who were too caught up in the bliss of companionship to exert wrath to the fullest extent.
It was a bittersweet experience for the tribefolk, who slowly began to accept the truth that all this time, they had been among a frustrated La craving for release and reunion. It made the story of Sokka's "ascendance" even more painful to hear about. But of course, no one felt as unsettled as Katara. Despite knowing the truth that her brother and sister-in-law were, in actuality, living and breathing, secure in the very snow forest that the tribe kept away from and were Spirits all the same, the environment around her was so filled with grief regarding her brother's "fate" that she didn't care to step out of her quarters, an act which the tribe interpreted as her "coming to terms" with what happened. If she didn't know any better, the master waterbender would've succumbed herself to that grief, too; that's why she had to remind herself that he was fine, most likely at his most peaceful state of mind yet, in fact. With the passing days as her discomfort grew, Aang decided that it was time they visited Selamiut's snow forest again to give Sokka and Yue updates on the tribe's situation; he posed as if they were going to Air Temple Island along with many Nomads and Acolytes, who swore to keep the presence of Ama and her lover a secret.
"They're doing fine, sweetie," Aang squeezed Katara's hand in reassurance. "You'll see for yourself."
"I-Incense?"
"Mmm…"
"Scented...candles...ahh!"
"Yes…uungh..."
Yue gasped, hanging on the precipice of another mind-shattering release. "Sokka," she shuddered into his chest, "T-They're coming…"
"Are you coming?"
The tension in her lower belly burst and filled her being with euphoria. She threw her head against the pillows and rode out her release with a cry, spasming around him as he spilled his essence within her walls. He slumped against her, the pounding in his chest intensifying. He thumbed away the sweat on her skin and kissed her forehead.
"I don't think we can cuddle for very long…" she brushed her hand over his head, smoothing his messy hair, "They…" They'll be here soon, she ended up finishing the sentence as a thought only, cut off by a yawn, her pleasure leaving behind a haze of drowsiness.
"We still...have a little while..." he panted.
Need to straighten up the house...
I got it taken care of.
She blinked in the direction of the noise that was coming from beyond their open bedroom door and spotted another manifestation of her ocean lover running about, holding up several incense sticks and flashing her a reassuring smile. She gave a breathless little laugh. Seems like it'll be a while before I get used to this.
"Now then, where were we?" he pulled the covers over them but felt her shift in protest.
"I need a shower," a sigh as she forced herself to sit up, tying the sheets around her but not leaving the edge of the bed, "And I'm very lazy…"
"I'll take you."
"I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Why not?" a cocky grin as he sat up, not caring to cover his bare waist, "Afraid you won't keep your hands off of me?"
She blinked up at him, answering in all timid honesty, "Yes."
He let out a little noise that teetered between amusement and arousal before tugging the sheets off of her picking her up. She squealed as he pressed her against the door, "That's it, I need you…" and he kissed her wildly, feeling her needy tugs against his hair.
"Sokka, we can't—oh," her words were betrayed by her moving hips. "Not with them on their way…"
"They can wait."
"I need to be clean when they get here, mind you—"
"Honey, that won't be a problem at all," he smirked, pulling her into the bathroom.
Katara was relieved to see the glows on her brother and sister-in-law's faces, which stemmed from both the lovers' knowledge of their true selves and each other as well as the afterglows following passionate bouts of intimacy. Aang, too, was extremely happy to see the subtle but pivotal change in them. It was obvious that before, there had been some traces of hesitance in the lovers regarding the prospects of closeness, but they've quickly become more inseparable. Of course, this also meant that the two were far from conversing with anyone, but Aang and Katara weren't complaining; not only did they finally have the chance to tease Sokka with "oogies!" every now and then and get him back for all the years of his gagging over their romance, but on a deeper level, it was also heartwarming for them to see the incarnated lovers experience the wholesome life they both deserved.
Except they didn't seem to allow the lovers to continue experiencing that wholesomeness, according to Sokka's line of thinking. The Ocean was definitely not in the mood for discussing things that he already knew, like the situation in the North and the results to come out of the voting process for the Water Tribe territory. He was possessed by an insatiable need for his merge with the Moon, by the great attachment he held for their bed games. All of his attention circled back to her as she spent much of her time playing with the young airbenders— Aang's friends who had now become best friends of Bumi and Kya as well, seeking the comfort of games after settling into the world post-revival.
"Aunt Yue, that's cheating!" Bumi said. "You're not supposed to tell her where I am!"
"That's cheating?" Yue blinked, faking lack of knowledge over such a simple game, "I thought I was supposed to help her find you."
"No, that's not how hide-and-seek works," Jinju, a young monk, shook his head. "You can't be this innocent, Moon Princess."
"Well I didn't have anyone to play hide-and-seek with when I was your age. How would I know how to play?"
"But you were the Moon Princess!"
"I was a busy Moon Princess."
"You don't get to take breaks when you're a Moon Princess?"
"Not really, no," she chuckled.
"Well don't worry, we'll teach you," Bumi said.
"Yeah! It's soooooo easy!" Kya jumped up and down.
"Okay, this time, you're 'it.' What you need to do first is start counting, and then you have to come find us."
"So as I count, you're going to hide?"
"Yep!"
"Okay. One...two..."
"You have to close your eyes and turn around and do it!"
"Oooohhhhh, okay, I get it now." She turned around and covered her eyes. "One...two...three…"
"Count to a hundred!"
"A hundred? But that's going to take a long time!"
"But we need more time to hide," another monk said. "There's a lot of us, so..."
"Oh, okay then. Start hiding!"
As she began counting, the children raced off. Taking the chance, a grinning warrior swooped into the scene and grasped her from behind her.
"How could you leave me all by myself out there?" he peppered kisses on her cheek.
"All by yourself? That's your sister and brother-in-law."
"Well yeah, but they're busy."
"Doing what? Having tea?"
"And meeting the turtles."
"Well they'll be done soon enough," she turned in his grip until she was facing him, "Now step aside, mister, I'm playing a game."
"I wanna play, too!"
"Then you should be hiding, not flirting with me."
Feigning innocence, "Is that really what the rules say?"
"You played this game a million times, you should know."
"But I forgot how to play," he pulled her flush up against him, "Maybe you can teach me?"
"Isn't that a grand idea?"
"Come on, Chieftess, teach me some things."
"I think it's about time I taught you to limit the romance when we have guests—"
"Don't play coy with me, Goddess. I only came here because you were giving me that look earlier."
"What look?"
"Oh you know," he wiggled his eyebrows, "that look that you gave me last night."
"Hush up!" she tapped his wrist, "There are kids here. And I don't know what look you're talking about."
"Yeah right."
"Seriously, you must be hallucinating or something," she teased. "You have some cactus juice on you, by any chance?"
"I saw you giving me that look when I was making tea earlier," he moved closer to her, his lips only centimeters away. "Say, are you turned on when I'm in the kitchen?"
"Fine, maybe I admired your tea-making skills—"
"That's a look beyond admiration. You were checking me out."
"I'm a good girl, I'd never do such a thing."
"I'm not saying it's a crime, Mooncake, I'm saying…" his hand trailed up to her shoulder before venturing lower, "you should act on your feelings instead of taunting people. Who knows, maybe your feelings be reciprocated."
"I have no reason to taunt anyone or weave different excuses," she stopped his hand before it could dip inside her shirt. "Who do you take me for? La?"
"Yes," he smirked.
"Well I'm Tui."
"Is there a difference?"
Is there a difference? A grin, "I guess not."
"Then shouldn't that mean you want me when I want you, too?" he said knowingly, his sharp blue swiveling into blue-black, his hand teetering by the curve of her sensitive bosom. "You know I'm always at your service."
It was only obvious that she wanted him again. Shamelessly, unabashedly. There was, after all, no hesitance in Tui wanting to feel this way about La, especially with him starting to take on her scent, having handed his oceanic scent over to her. And he was so close to her, too, teasing her lips with his breath but not actually locking their lips together. The heat brewing between them teetered on the brink of desperation, and it took only one slip-up, one bold moment for the hands at her waist to pick her up, for her legs to seek purchase around his waist, for her heels to dig into his backside as his hips tangoed with hers...And somewhere along the way, she had closed her eyes and opted to lean in for a kiss...
"Aunt Yue, are you counting?"
She froze in place, eyes fluttering open. Biting her bottom lip and looking both ways, "S-Sorry, guys, I messed up counting, I'm starting over!"
And with that, he pulled her closer, and she wrapped her arms fiercely around him as he pulled their lips together. Their hands sought purchase anywhere they could on each other's bodies. Extensive fumbling and several kisses later, Yue gasped out, "Okay, that's enough…"
"You don't seem sure," he breathed against her lips.
"Not now, not now, later, for sure—"
"Oh come on—"
"Someone's going to walk in—!"
"Fine, just one kiss, one kiss, baby," but he didn't stop at one, breathing heavily as he drank in the taste of her skin and the heat of her breath. She muffled her moan against his mouth.
"Sokka, someone might—!"
"Alright, alright," he kissed her forehead and cheeks, "but one more, please, one more—"
"Oogies!"
Yue yelped and pushed Sokka off of her as he hit the wall with a surprised, "Gah!" Standing before them were Bumi and Kya, who were making gagging faces at them.
"Oogies, oogies, oogies!" Kya screeched.
"Not you, too, Aunt Yue!" Bumi said.
"It's not my fault!" she panted, pointed at her husband, "He started it!"
"Me—?!"
"Uncle Sokka! You're gross!" Bumi said, "Just like Mom and Dad! I thought you were on our side!"
"I am, kiddo, but your aunt over here—"
"Aunt Yue is innocent!" Bumi defended.
"Yeah, Aunt Yue doesn't do nasty stuff!" Kya exclaimed.
Sokka gasped. "Traitors! You'd rather believe your aunt than me?" And he cast a look at his wife, who held a smug look in her eyes before reverting to her "innocent" face.
"Let's go, Aunt Yue, Uncle Sokka's being gross," and the young boy took his aunt's hand while Kya held the moon's other hand, and they pulled her along with them.
"I knew you guys would believe me!" And with that, the Moon briefly turned around to smirk at her gaping husband.
"I'll get my revenge, Moon Princess!" La called behind her. "I'll show you!"
Show me tonight, she winked, making him topple back against the wall in a swoon.
Accompanied by Katara's grounding presence as well as the company of a few older monks, Aang approached the Ocean and Moon Spirits with questions and scrolls from the Esoteric Teachings of the Air Nomads. The group soon became a witness to Sokka and Yue's Water Tribe attire presenting itself in Nomadic hues. The marital necklaces that they sported turned into basil beads colored in each other's natures. La's eyes turned smokey grey and Tui's turned a mystical amethyst, representing the ashes of all the impermanent things of this world accompanied by the simultaneous hope of cosmic regeneration. These were signs confirming that sitting before them was indeed Ama, the summit of the mountains of nonviolence— her presence complete with the small upward arrow decorating her forehead— and Vayu, the spirit of freedom who broke free from the expectations of society, having chosen love and happiness instead.
As an airbender, Aang witnessed the sight of Ama and Vayu with the small group of monks, and as the Avatar, he separately witnessed the progenitors of the Avatar Spirit as Vaatu and Raava, their energies revealing their elemental manifestations as Tui and La, Avni and Bhuman, Ina and Agni, and Ama and Vayu. It was in light of these revelations that the Avatar and the master waterbender became aware of Yue's command over the other elements as well. It was a step taken out of utmost trust, for initially, the plan was to keep Yue's abilities a secret from everyone else, even from Aang and Katara. In this moment, however, the Spirits demonstrated that they trusted their secrets with the two, for there was no longer the threat that even the most loyal people would separate them. It was impossible given that the Moon and Ocean were one.
Aang continued on the conversation regarding elements with Yue, watching as she demonstrated her abilities. Katara, who was still trying to process all of this information, took up a conversation with her brother. There was still a lot she needed to realize about the Spirit who was born as her sibling, but she just wanted to see him as her brother for the sake of stability and a sense of normalcy. Even if it was temporary and she would eventually have to process these truths to the fullest.
"I didn't think I'd be the normal one here, of all people," Katara sighed. "Sister of the Ocean, Sister-in-Law of the Moon, Wife of the Avatar."
"Don't count yourself too normal, baby sister," he smiled. "You did please the Painted Lady way back when. Sounds about right for the sister of the Ocean, don't you think?"
There was a difference in his voice. More knowing yet more playful. Perhaps this was how the real image of La was supposed to be so long as he was in Tui's presence, not of a brooding, cynical, raging sufferer.
"I'm happy to see you two like this. And I think it's obvious you two are finally starting your life the way you always wanted to. It's just…"
"You don't like that we're hidden," Sokka finished for her. "I told you before and I'm telling you again. This is the best way. Yeah, things might've gone back to the original timeline, but I'm not just going to forget everything that happened when these people didn't remember her." And as he was reminded of all that happened, his playfulness wavered. Instinctually, he looked in Yue's direction, watching her bend a white blame as Aang watched. She cast a beam at Sokka, her bright smile glowing further in the firelight, making his heart overflow with warmth and rejuvenation. He smiled back at her with joy as he continued speaking to Katara. "That reality made me connect with who I really am and who Yue really is."
"You finally put people in their places, though."
"And so what if I did?" he gave her an incredulous look, "Are you seriously saying we should come back?"
"No, I'm not! Well, not now, but...maybe sometime in the future? W-We could have some kind of explanation in handy—"
"Katara, is this even you suggesting this? How ridiculous is it going to sound if we say we're back after we transcended to escape all this? Going back and forth is a bit much, don't you think?"
"But everyone now knows that you're La. They won't try to separate you two. They'll take whatever explanation they get. You're literally gods."
Sokka sighed. "When half of me was up in my lair in the Spirit World, I told myself to never rely on humans for anything. And the half of me that was down here didn't care about the spirits at all. You and Aang and the nomads are the only people I'm willing to trust at this point."
"But it doesn't feel right."
"Why doesn't it? The Water Tribe has always had human chieftains and still worshipped Tui and La as its spiritual rulers."
"I know, but...Do you have any idea how hard it is for me? The world saying that my brother is no longer in the physical realm? They're making it sound like you're dead, Sokka."
"Well I'm not. I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm where I belong, Katara."
"Can't we belong with the two of you, too?" she asked, vulnerability flashing in her look, "Sokka, we're at a place where there's so much uncertainty. With the tribe trying to figure itself out, with what Aang and I have to do next, with the responsibility of this huge Ananda Lotus mission that we need to prepare ourselves for. I want you two to be here when I'm feeling overwhelmed. I need you to make me laugh. I need Yue to be there when this baby comes…" she smoothed her hand over the small bump at her belly, "I want you two to be the aunt and uncle that my children need. I need the both of you to be in our lives." She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Mom was taken, Dad was never here after that. I don't want you taken away from me, too. I don't want to live in this illusion that you're not here because you are and…"
The Ocean Spirit softened his gaze, "Sis, everything you want, you're going to get. We're always gonna be with you. There's never going to be a time when we're not. We're not limited to one place, you know. Just say our names, and we'll come before you wherever you are. As long as the moon is in the sky and the tides keep moving." He smiled, "Besides, you can come see us here anytime you want. We're just an Appa ride away. Air Temple Island is, what, twenty minutes from this place if you get here on Appa and thirty minutes by ship?"
"I know, but…"
"Katara, it's by studying what Tui and I have for each other that there were waterbenders, to begin with. We never took on human forms to teach them. We never had to spoonfeed them. It's not for no reason why Tui and I never walked around so openly as humans after people knew about us. That's why we'd been koi fish. So in the very least, we don't communicate with other people." A resolute look followed, "And now that people know who we are, we're not going to communicate with them. Something always goes wrong."
Something always goes wrong.
"The only reason we agreed to being the leaders now is because you and Aang came running to us saying there's no one else worthy enough for it," he said. "Yeah, I'm a spirit, but I'm human, too, and... I can't afford for things to go wrong again." I can't afford to stop healing now. "And yeah, I let go of being present in the tribe as an actual person, but that doesn't mean I'm going to disappear from yours and Aang's lives. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna be here for my nephews and nieces."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and Katara felt as if she was graced by a warm tide. "All we're wanting is to live normally, peacefully, away from all this mess," Sokka said. "But trust me, we're gonna be spending that peaceful life with you guys, too...Although I wouldn't mind a honeymoon with my wife first."
The master waterbender laughed and pulled her brother in for a hug. It was as if she was hugging a sculpture made weirdly of water, but that was just one of the many things she was yet to get used to.
Sokka's attention flew from the documents he was looking over to the warm lips that kissed his cheek and the soft hand that ruffled his hair. He beamed at her, ushering her onto his lap, his arm around her waist.
"Everything going well?"
"Yeah," he handed her the folder he was sieving through, "The monks are wanting a bit more time to get settled. It's gonna take them a while to start planning out the different branches and choosing the locations."
And that was only expected considering they were still trying to get used to the life that they had returned to. Many of the foundational plans had been discussed, and a general consensus was reached on the kinds of categories that the mission would be focusing on, including establishing a school for disadvantaged children. The initial branches were to be established in the four Air Temples along with Air Temple Island and Selamiut.
"They didn't bring any updates from the White Lotus?" asked.
"Other than their acceptance of the mission, not really."
As she looked through the file, he noted that she held a perturbed glaze in her eyes. "You're thinking about what Katara said, aren't you?"
"Yes…" she placed the folder on the table and sighed, wrapping her hands around his neck. "It's obvious that I'm not comfortable with people thinking you're…" Not alive. "And at the same time, if they saw you right now, they wouldn't have…well, I don't know if they would've let me..." Be next to you.
"Because they would've thought everything I was saying was nonsense," he said, "Because they wouldn't believe that I'm La. I mean, if they didn't even when I was in my lycan form, then they sure won't with me still being my ordinary human self to them." He smoothed his hand over her long, unraveled hair, "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts."
"I'm not," she said. "I just wish things could've been easy."
"Mm…" he traced one of her curls before tucking it behind her ear.
"Sokka?"
"Hm?"
"Do you want to go to Ba Sing Se?" she asked, "For our honeymoon? You know, that house you have in the middle ring…" she traced his jaw, "the poetry society...the Firelight Fountain..."
"You know there are hundreds of other much-more romantic places, right?" he blinked at her.
"Yeah, but…I guess I'm just curious...We did want to go there after all."
"I did. You didn't seem that excited."
"I did, too. Deep down. But…"
His hand cupped her cheek, and he looked at her as if studying her, craving another merge so he could experience her thought process. And he was quick to understand that a merge was no longer necessary for him to do so given how inseparable they now realized they were. He could read that she did, in fact, fancied the idea of not only going somewhere, but relocating somewhere where they wouldn't be bothered by all of this. She had tried suppressing that fantasy, though, figuring it would be complicated with him leaving the Water Tribe. If he was going to be the chief, he had to be here in the homeland. Since she'd thought he was only human. And now, with a hundred of him running around every now and then, he obviously wasn't just human and didn't require having to stay in the place he was going to look after if really he was everywhere as water, as the ocean. And with regard to their projected involvement in the Ananda Lotus project, if it was going to be a global mission in the near future, having a branch in the largest city in the world was kind of inevitable, right?
"Do you want us to make the move to Ba Sing Se?"
She hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I feel silly. Not wanting us to go, then coming in touch with ourselves, now wanting us to go again."
"It's not silly. It's you accepting what you really want," he said.
"It is what I want, but...I want to be able to stay close to the Water Tribe, too. I mean, I know we can be anywhere at any time, but as humans, travelling...because…" A sigh, "When we have children of our own, I...I want them to know our homeland and heritage."
Smiling softly, "I don't think the children of Tui and La need to worry about losing touch with the homeland, but if that's what you're really concerned about, Ba Sing Se isn't extremely far from the Foggy Swamp if we take the right shortcuts. And we know it's gonna be voted into Water Tribe territory, so there's that. Whenever we go, we can take the portal in the swamp to get to the tundra at any time."
"Maybe...but suppose we do move, I'll need to do something about my hair if I don't want people to recognize me."
"You could say you colored your hair. That you're a big fan of Tui."
"That's quite meta, don't you think? Saying I'm my biggest follower?"
"Aren't you already, though?" he grinned. "I'm just another version of you after all."
"I suppose you're right." A small smile followed by a sigh, "Well...it all certainly sounds good…" And with that, she looked around at their ice house, at the windows leading to the blankets of ice and snow that covered their continent.
Sokka understood the meaning behind her subconscious instinct to memorize the place. He kissed her forehead, "Hey, Mooncake, whenever you really feel like seeing the tundra, I'll make sure it'll happen in seconds. All you need to do is close your eyes. Come on, close your eyes, I'll show you."
She did, and with a wave of his hand, the Ocean melted the surroundings around him to where the winds blew more intensely and several seagull-frogs croaked and cackled for her attention. She blinked her eyes open, finding that they were not in the warmth of the ice house but the chilling fascination of the icy tundra, bundled up in warm parkas and furs. In the sky, various colors of the aurora danced on in welcome.
"Wherever we are, we'll make time for a moment like this every day," he assured. "Besides, we're Spirits. We're everywhere all at once, even here."
Yue's smile seemed to reach both ends of the planet as she linked her arm around his and lay her head on his shoulder, looking around her at the vast tundra. "As grand as this is, and as much as I love it, I know I won't be missing the tribe too terribly." Looking into his eyes, "I see the entire tribe in you."
He beamed at her, the moisture in his eyes churning from joy. "I know you know this already, but you're home to me, too."
Ba Sing Se underwent a huge transition, which was kickstarted by the Earth King after the Hundred Year War. Having been strongly impacted by his exploration of the world and his meeting with Team Avatar several years ago, he had established several changes upon his re-enthronement as the leader of the Earth Kingdom following Iroh's reconquering of Ba Sing Se. The king had passed legislations concerning the social structure of the city and as well as laws concerning the dissolution of the Dai Li and the destruction of walls separating the now-to-be-permeable sectors. Over the years, the city had seen a considerable backlash against people who were in support of Ba Sing Se's former system, but over time, Team Avatar's continued influence along with Team Avatar's— especially Sokka's— extended stays and visits helped boost the change that was desperately needed among the people. It wasn't until two decades later that the majority of these changes had been accepted and implemented.
So when the Moon and Ocean arrived in the city at night and walked the streets beneath the bright moonlight and the clouds awaiting the birth of a storm, they saw that there were no fixed separations among the social classes. In their street, there were people of all classes, all backgrounds. There were families of former refugees along with scholars and members of the elite. There were even people from the other nations— Fire Nation, Southern and Northern Earth Kingdom territories, members of the Air Nomads' lay communities, mixed families, even a couple of tribefolk (who thankfully didn't recognize the chief and chieftess), for these people were from teeny tiny villages in the Poles who didn't spare a chance at having seen the leaders up close. Given the diversity of this place, it seemed they would be supportive of the Ananda Lotus branch that would very soon find its place of establishment in the Crystal Catacombs, which was only a mile or two from this place.
As for the city in general, Ba Sing Se was warm, and the neighborhood leading to their new home was simple and spacious at night, for the part of the city that they were in was not as extremely busy or extravagant as other areas. The roads were lit with occasional firelight posts, and to their right and left, people were turning in for the night, blowing out their lanterns and allowing the moon to cast its magic over them. They were then greeted with the sight of a Water Tribe man carrying his wife bridal style down the street leading to their little home, which lay a little bit off to the end of the middle ring close to the agrarian zone. The people glancing at them were good-natured and smug, casting the "newlyweds" supportive smiles, some waving at them in greeting, others chuckling to themselves at the lovebirds' open display of affection.
"Everyone's looking at us," Yue whispered, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck.
"Let 'em look," Sokka smiled, tightening his grip around her and kissing her on the lips, "We're not committing a crime, are we?"
As they rounded a corner that would very soon take them to their new home, Yue snuggled up against his chest. "It was really sweet of Nayeli and the Acolytes to have everything organized beforehand."
"If you want, you can rearrange everything to your liking, but we should probably save that for tomorrow. We need to make the best of tonight, if you know what I mean."
Indeed, he did have a point. Katara and Aang were staying at a temporary home literally right across the street from where they were going to be.
"It was your idea, you know."
"I told them to stay somewhere close in Ba Sing Se so you don't have to cross continents or use too much of your powers to check on her and the baby. I didn't tell them to get a house straight across from ours."
"They're getting their revenge, I tell you," she told him. "After all that oogie policing you did. You didn't even give them a break after they were married."
"I admit I was policing them a bit too much, but in my defense, I didn't follow them on their honeymoon vacation or anything."
"Well isn't that what revenge is all about, Great Spirit of Karma? Striking your opponent more sharply than they struck you?"
He frowned at her point but eased his grumbling as he earned a giggle from his wife, and within minutes, Sokka started to get antsy and insisted that she closed her eyes.
"I can see the world even with my eyes closed, you know."
"Of course you can, Goddess, but please? For me?"
And from there, the steps he took were deliberately slow to milk the suspense as much as possible.
"Okay, almost there...almost...aaaaanndd tada! Open up, Mooncake, we're here!"
It was a sweet little home. Lush flora greeted them in the front yard, lots of flowers lining the pebble walkway that led to the steps of their home. Roses, ipomoeas, jasmines, flora of the like. There was a veranda that resembled the structure of their previous ice house, and on the porch was a swing much like the one they left behind, the only difference being that it wasn't chilled or decorated with icicles.
"I know you really liked the swing," he told her as he carried her up the steps, "So I had one arranged."
"It's perfect," she kissed his cheek.
After several moments of fiddling with the lock, he carried her into the house and finally set her down. Everything was spotless, and pelts and carpets of blues and indigos and purples were placed in abundance, making it resemble a Water Tribe home on the inside in spite of the Earth Kingdom-esque structure. An excited Sokka showed her all the perks of the place, starting with the dojo space next to the living room for when he starts training people in swordsmanship under the Ananda Lotus branch. It was not a grand space, but it was certainly comfortable, fit for at least fifteen students. On the other end of the house, free from distractions and situated in abundant nature was a pavilion-like space enclosed with doors; this was to be her very own study, which would serve as her workspace as well as a place for her to store her books and writing and everything else in which she found her passion. He then led her to the backyard, and waiting for them was a small pound in which their turtles were comfortably settled. Lining the outside of the pond were little dwellings for the turtles in the event of inclement weather.
"And since you asked so nicely…" he gestured to a small little house-like structure in the corner, where Yue could hear soft growling and squeaking. She tiptoed closer and saw to her surprise a shadow that very closely resembled...
"Is that? No way…"
"Yes way…"
Strutting out of the little house was a soft, brown animal, its big eyes blinking up at the glimmering Yin Spirit in fascination and reciprocated admiration.
"You finally got a sabertooth moose lion cub!"
"You like him?"
Yue squealed and darted towards the animal. The cub raced over to her and nestled comfortably in her grip as she laughed and cuddled with the animal, petting its soft coat. "Look at you, sweet boy!"
"I'll take that as a yes," he smiled and took a seat beside his wife.
"Sokka, he's so beautiful! How did you…?
"I had to wrestle with the neighborhood authorities," he said. "Not physically but through correspondence. They eventually said we could keep him as long as he's trained and doesn't sabotage the other yards."
"Yay!" she clapped and kissed the cub's forehead. "So what's his name going to be? Foo Foo Cuddly Poops the Second?"
"I figured you should name him," he said. "I kind of named the turtles, after all."
"Well we need to remember the legacy of Foo Foo the First," she said, chuckling as the cub licked at her hand. "By the power vested in my moonliness, I shall call you Foo Foo The Second!"
"Foo Foo the Second! Hear hear!"
The darker it became, the more quickly Foo Foo and the turtles turned in for the night, lulled by the Ocean's cosmic rhythm and the Moon's lulling light. They found themselves on the soft, warm grass, locked in a heated embrace, tempted to relieve each other from the burden of clothing so they had no obstacles in merging, yet restraining purely out of their enjoyment of the surroundings.
"Do you like the house, Mooncake?"
"To be honest, I think I like this one better than all the other places we stayed in."
"That's quite a statement there," he chuckled, kissing her hand. "Anything that strikes your attention in particular? Like a certain study maybe?"
"The study is wonderful," she told him. "But what I like the most about his place is the way it reminds me of you. More than the hut down South. More than anything else." A hand on his cheek, "For the first time, it feels like I'm home," she confessed to him. "The North was what I should call home, but it felt dreadful. And I was barely staying in one place in the South." And even if she did stay put, it probably wouldn't have felt like home as much as it should. "And the ice house is great, but it was still...foreign… Though I know you would've liked to stay close to Yue Bay."
"It's okay," he shrugged it off, the light in his eyes leaving for a moment, "I had it named Yue Bay when I thought I wouldn't see you again. It appeared very beautiful to me one night, and I thought...and I thought of you…" A sigh, "Now it reminds me of sad memories, and I don't want to think about...that time...when you weren't with me like this…"
"I don't, either," she said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "All I know is that this place is a result of your hard work. I love it more than any other place in the world."
He smiled, filled with love but also simultaneously hit by a lingering sting of pain. He remembered the last time he was in Ba Sing Se, the crap that had taken place at the Earth King's party, the way people had been talking about them, talking about her. He did not want to be reminded of those things, and yet, here he was, plagued by those memories.
Reading his stream of consciousness, she kissed him in reassurance, her hands settling on his shoulders. "Love, leave it all behind. I'm always going to be here with you. Always."
He pulled her closer and kissed her, overtaken by streams of passion as a stray tear left his eyes. She brushed it away, roughening the kiss, her fingers trailing down his chest. "I love you."
"I love you, too," a sigh, "So much."
She turned him over on the grass, planting kisses down his neck. His hands looped beneath her buttocks, and he eventually lifted her up, bringing her inside. She tugged at his shirt, and he tried to rip it off in haste, but she insisted on pulling it up over his head.
"You know, my favorite is the bedroom," he panted, earning a laugh.
"Is it?"
"Yep," his eyes twinkled, "I was saving the best for last."
Tracing a slice of strawberry above her lips, he stopped long enough for her to take the slice into her mouth, holding it between her teeth but not actually biting. "Dark chocolate," she said.
A rare smile curled at his lips. "It won't be as sweet..." He leaned forward, biting half of the slice before nibbling at her lower lip. "My Goddess deserves sweet things."
"That's why your goddess asked."
He watched in curiosity as she sat up on the soft mattress, consecrating the new sheets with more of her feminine juices, her body scented by the thousands of rose petals perched on the bed, a good portion of them sticking to her glistening skin. She dipped a finger into a bowl of chocolate syrup on the candlelit side table beside them. The next second, she smeared some of the syrup against his neck and shoulder. The cold sensation made his breath hitch for a moment, but warmth quickly latched onto him in the form of her mouth closing in softly at the chocolate-coated skin, her tongue licking the skin clean, peppering kisses to his shoulder. He made a cute noise that wavered between a groan and a whimper, and the hand at her waist gave the skin a needy squeeze, extracting an aroused yelp out of her. Her nails dug into his back, and her teeth lightly grazed against his skin.
"I know you taste sweeter, Goddess…" and he pinned her against the silks, not breaking their embrace as soft moans spilled onto his shoulder. He reached for the sweet cream that waited in another bowl and smeared some against her collarbone, trailing his cream-coated fingers down a breast and venturing onto her stomach. He quickly dove in, lapping at the skin, working his way down, and when he came to her abdomen, he dipped into the tiny cave of her belly button. He smiled against her navel as her lower body vibrated with need. Her lush feminine scent drew him in further, and he travelled further down than the creamy trail allowed. He breathed intimate haikus upon her womanhood and wrote them out on her sensitive nub with his tongue, leaving her writhing and panting from the sparks of pleasure that blazed through her.
From there, they both unraveled, pushing into each other's bodies, pulling each other close. He took her with love and care painted in passion, bottoming out in her depths, and they were both quick to reach their highs. Pulsing inside of her, he wrapped his arms more snugly around her frame, groaning out his release with fierce intensity as she shook in his grip, raided by blissfully shattering aftershocks. And they snuggled together beneath the sheets of their new bed, their moans ringing through their new home.
"This is how it should've been," he eventually panted in the middle of his efforts to catch his breath, "Well, not this, exactly, but...the relaxation part." He looked at her, "Instead, you were out there healing the world last time and I was playing pining husband."
With half-lidded eyes, "You were the one who went from village to village, Great Ocean Spirit," she pointed her finger against him. "I was pining, too."
"You should've done something about it, then," he hummed in teasing reprimand, placing a kiss on her neck. Her bright fingers threaded through his locks, a pleased little sigh leaving her lips.
"I didn't do anything then so I could do something now," and with a smirk, she climbed on top of him, taking him into her depths. He pushed himself up eagerly into her, both shuddering in pleasure. The candles dimmed, darkening the room but bringing more light into their lives, opening their hearts to new beginnings.
The past two weeks, especially, were imbued with firelight dates, moonlit picnics, even simple walks around the city as they got to know the locals. They were living the life that they'd always wanted to live, free from other influences, liberated from unwanted attention, drowning in nothing but ecstasy and the bliss of union. All of this pampering and indulgement bore fruit one fateful night when Yue frantically woke Sokka up from his sleep. The time candles struck two hours past midnight, bringing a groggy, sex-soaked Ocean out of his sleep. "Yue?" he brushed at his eyes, only for his heart to stop as he saw traces of tears in hers.
"Yue," he sat up quickly, seeing that she was sitting at the edge of the bed. "Baby, what's wrong? Are you okay?!"
"Nothing's wrong, it's just…"
"What happened?"
"Nothing, nothing, I…So...I have something to say..." she struggled to get her words to go past her lips, so she took hold of his hand and placed it over her lower belly. A confused Sokka paused his thinking for a moment, caught by surprise— joyful surprise— at what he was feeling; pulsing sensations that were soft, faint, fast, separate from her heartbeat, separate from the millions of heartbeats of the different life forms and movements of this world that were all contained in Tui. He may have tried to read what was running through her mind, but he felt excitement build up in him to the point of not being able to concentrate.
"D-Do you feel that?"
And in her voice this time, he heard not panic, not just nervousness or incredulity but hope. A fierce pounding took over his heart, and he looked up at her, "Is it…?"
A simultaneous laugh and cry of what he now recognized as excitement, "I mean, I had a feeling earlier, and I just...I wanted to be sure and I...I thought it went away earlier but really I had trouble feeling it and I didn't think it would be back, but it's back and I feel different and I don't know if you remember, but you said I feel different earlier, too, and I didn't think much of it and I know I don't usually ramble but I'm really, truly nervous right now and..."
Panting in anticipation, "So does this mean—?!"
"Yes!" another choked laugh, "Yes, Sokka, I think I'm—!"
"YEEEESSSSSS!" he fumbled out of bed and picked her up and spun her in his arms, passionate yet gentle in his touch. He trailed kisses all over her, earning squeals of surprise and delight as choked cries of happiness left his mouth. He laughed and danced with joy, crying like a madman. "Oh goodness, it's finally happening—!"
"You didn't let me finish!"
"Oh, right," he laughed, wiping at his eyes and still holding her in his arms, "Finish."
"I'm pre—"
"WOOOOH! You're pregnant! Oh my Goddess, we're pregnant!"
"I'm not done yet!" she laughed as he spun her around again.
"We're going to be parents! You're gonna be a mother! Goodness, you're gonna be a mom! And I'm…"
"You're going to be a a father," she laughed, and he felt like his insides would burst into fireworks.
"I'm gonna be a dad!" He laughed and laughed and laughed some more as he kept spinning her around, and eventually, he trailed off in his outbursts, too far gone in his excitement as he briefly set her down and hugged her. "We're having a baby! Babies!" And with every bit of fascination, known and unknown to mankind, he knelt before her until he was in level with her lower belly. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her stomach. He felt his tears stream unceasingly from his eyes as he sobbed and sang and hugged her stomach. After all this time fantasizing, their companionship was sealed to perfection. Any and all traces of irrational fear of abandonment, having been completely obliterated the moment of their merge, were yet again crushed at this moment as they were bound permanently by family. Could he have dared to imagine such a moment three months ago? When he came to the North?
"Sokka—?"
"I'm okay," he sniffed and shot back up on his feet. "I love you, I love you, I love all of you! Oh, Tui and La! Fuck, we're Tui and La!" He picked her up and spun her around some more. "We're going to be parents!"
"You're going to wake up all of Ba Sing Se—!"
"WOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH! WOOOOHHHOOOOOOO! Oh Goddess, oh, we did it!" Another round of kisses, "We need to tell Aang and Katara! Tell Airhead he's gonna be an uncle—!" the warrior felt faint just saying it out loud, "We're gonna storm my sister's place right now!"
"But— "
"And we're gonna CELEBRATE! WOOO!"
"We'll go tomorrow, now put me down!"
But he was already out the door, making a run for the house across from them, hollering and cheering and whooping.
"Sokka, you're going to have to put me down at some point—"
"Not tonight, baby, not tonight! WOOOO!"
A/N: I'm at the point of the story where I always wanted to be! Seriously, my own slow burn was driving me insane, lol. Also, I'm continuing to edit this story (and my progress is slow, I admit, I've only edited ch. 1-5), so if you're a new reader and are not aware of this, some details may seem off towards the beginning. Just be aware that I might eventually get to them. Thanks for your patience!
