Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or its characters.

47

Sokka trudged into the kitchen, rubbing his forehead as if he could remove the uncomfortable depression that came from hours of wearing a hardhat. His yellow vest, coated with dirt and dark smudges of tar and asphalt, hung limply off one slumped shoulder, and sweat and grime coated his face as if it had been airbrushed on. A full day of laying tamping down dirt and laying asphalt made the prospect of the date night with Suki, the one he'd promised all week, impossible. He had grabbed some flowers from a convenience store on the way home in the hopes of mollifying her a bit, but he had his own suspicions on Suki's reception of that.

He sighed. They'd really only ever gone on one date before. Being roommates with one's girlfriend made things like that more challenging, for some reason. That was rather unanticipated. Suki didn't seem to mind too much, but that was definitely something he'd prefer not to take advantage of. It was no labor to take his girlfriend out every so often.

Pouring himself a glass of water from the tap, he slumped against the counter, one hand dragging against the column of his neck to relieve tension.

And then out came Suki from her bedroom, legs sheathed in black trousers that fit her snugly in all the right places, and a dark, shimmery blouse that bared a strip of fair skin all the way down to her navel. Her hair was done beautifully, half up, half down, and her make-up lent her a sultry sort of sexuality that gave Sokka a sudden lurch below his stomach. Maybe he wasn't so tired, after all.

She slowed when she saw him. "Did you just get back from work? I thought you were only working a half-day today."

"Somebody called in sick. I covered."

"I see," she said, and her eyes trailed over the smudge of dirt that he knew crested his jawline, the thin layer of perspiration that still coated his collarbone under his shirt. "Weren't we supposed to have a date tonight? Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"

He held up the flowers for her, and her eyes softened just a touch. "Would you be willing to do a rain check?" he asked in an almost fearful voice.

"I don't do bribery," she flared, but nonetheless, she eyed the flowers with begrudging interest. After a moment, she reached for them, bringing them to her face to softly inhale the sweet scent. "But, I suppose exceptions can be made in this case."

"You look amazing," he said.

She tossed her hair. "I know." After a moment, her gaze wandered back to him. "This may be disgusting and I will probably regret telling you, but... you also look pretty damn good."

He looked down at himself dubiously. "Do I?"

"In a 'working-man' sort of way. I'm a sucker for a man who's good with his hands." A light, wicked grin lit her lips. "But my highly polished and urbane boyfriend is supposed to be picking me up for a date, and I don't know how he'd feel about seeing me with you."

Sokka caught on quickly. "Did he? And what did he promise you? A night on the town?"

"Reservations at all the finest clubs."

He took a step towards her. "Suppose I thought of a better arrangement..."

"Suppose you did?" she breathed, leaning towards him as he took another step to her.

"You'd almost be inclined to tell him you had other plans." They were inches apart, now.

"Might break his heart."

"That's a shame."

But when his lips met hers, he didn't think it was a shame at all. When her blouse was in a crumpled ball on the floor and her breasts were cupped in his hands, smudges of dirt staining her pale skin like drops of tea on paper, the 'polished, urbane' side of himself felt no trace of disappointment. In fact, when they fell onto his bed and when she sighed his name as her back arched off the bed, he felt a distinct, acute sort of pleasure.

She smiled up at him after, her cheeks still a flushed pink, and there it was again. "I haven't forgotten our date," she murmured, one palm resting on the flat of his stomach.

"Tomorrow night. I promise."

Katara looked nervously up at the rock wall. It was fifty feet high. Fifty. Feet. High.

And there Aang was, halfway up, having climbed up there as easily as he might have climbed the stairs. Muscles she didn't even know existed stood out in sharp relief under the loose tank he wore, and she didn't feel it was appropriate that she think about the way his ass looked. They were in public, after all.

It was partially the fact that they were in public that Katara was concerned. Heights simply did not agree with her. She'd climbed the fifteen foot wall without concern, but at the thirty foot wall, there had been a definite note of panic as her hand hit the button at the top. The cheerfully monotone 'You did it!' that had played when she had slapped that button had paled in comparison to Aang swooping her in a circle when she had come back down, but even the prospect of being held in his arms was not enough to convince her that climbing fifty feet would be enjoyable.

"Come on, Katara!" he called from above her.

She crossed her arms. "Not that I'm complaining, but have you ever tried dates at cafés? Diners, even? I can kiss you just as easily in the battered leather seats at 'Auntie Lin's' as I can twenty feet in the air."

He looked around. "I think I'm more like thirty, here."

"You're only further proving my point."

"Why don't you try it?"

She frowned. "What?"

"I've personally never kissed someone while thirty feet in the air. We should try it." He grinned. "It could be different than diner-seat kisses."

"I seriously doubt it," she grumbled to herself, but nonetheless, she reached for the brightly colored faux stones that decorated that absurdly high wall.

"Follow the green trail," he said from ridiculously high above her. "It's the easiest- no, don't take the orange! It's advanced."

It was laborious work, and even Aang's bright cheerleading did little to calm her nerves. Every so often, he'd kindly but firmly remind her not to look down, and before she knew it, she was drawing level with him. She huffed out a puff of breath, blowing a strand of hair from her eyes. Her knees shook forcefully.

But the smile Aang gave her warmed her to her toes, and for the barest moment, she forgot that she was hovering above the ground at a height that could shatter her kneecaps, should her harness fail. "You did great," he congratulated her.

"I'm not even at the top, yet," she complained. Her eyes, of their own volition, peered downward, and she slammed her eyelids shut. "Oh, fuck," she whimpered.

"Are you afraid of heights, Katara?" he asked, a balanced hint of both amusement and compassion in his voice.

"What gave me away?"

He chuckled. "There's a special reward, if you get to the top."

"Like what?" she asked derisively. "A free pass to climb the one hundred foot wall? Bungee jumping? Or maybe they just let go of my harness and kill me once I get all the way up there, since I won't be able to climb back down."

He laughed earnestly this time. "No. Something else."

"What?"

"You'll see when we get there."

A/N: sorry i've been a little MIA lately! I have family visiting. I promise I haven't forgotten about this story though!