Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or its characters.

68

"So anyway," Aang said into his phone, trying to ignore the sweat that was forming on his brow. A few more seconds of this, and it was likely to trickle down his forehead. He was fortunate that Toph couldn't see. "I just thought it might be nice to have a family dinner. You know, a fun little gathering."

"Family dinner?" Toph scoffed. "I thought I moved out of my house to get away from those. This one sounds... Spirits, Aang, it sounds just as uncomfortable as the ones I used to go to at home."

"It won't be," he insisted. "Suki's excited to meet you, and Sokka liked you when he met you before."

Toph huffed breathily. "And Katara?"

"Katara," Aang said slowly. "Katara wants to support me, and I want to support you. She doesn't dislike you, you know. You're one of my best friends, and I love her. You're two of the most important people to me. I want you to know one another."

"Please don't cry," Toph deadpanned.

"I'm not going to cry." He rolled his eyes. "Please, Toph? Just come. Tomorrow night at seven."

"Fine. Tomorrow at seven."

Sokka blinked in surprise. Suki couldn't know about the ring; he'd been so careful. It was tucked tightly away in his sock drawer, the one place that she frequently (and loudly) announced she had no intention of ever digging through. Something about a lack of confidence in the cleanliness of his socks. He clung fiercely to the thought as he allowed himself a moment to calm his racing heart.

He shook his head to bring himself back to the moment. "Marriage? Uh... why do you ask?" Always deflect a question you didn't have the answer to with another question. He'd learned that in Debate Club in high school. Right before he got kicked off the team.

"Song and I were doing a little wedding planning today- nothing serious, just laying some groundwork, brainstorming." Suki looked up at him, her soft brown eyes wide and nervous. "I told her about some of your ideas. Like the serve-ware idea, and the wedding dress idea."

"Oh, did she like them?" Sokka asked, momentarily distracted. "I wasn't sure if she'd really go for the thrift shop wedding dress idea- she seems like a girl who wants an original, but it was so clever."

Suki stared at him. "Yea, she liked it fine, but she brought up how much thought you've been putting into their wedding." She looked down at her toes, wiggling inside her cozy socks. "I didn't think anything of it, really. I figured you were just interested in your friends wedding. But, Song said... she said..." she faltered.

"What did she say?"

"She said that you're really interested in marriage and maybe it's because you've got marriage on your mind," Suki released in one breath, ripping off the proverbial band-aid.

They fell silent for a moment, red splotches appearing on their mirrored faces.

"Oh," Sokka answered after a moment. His mind was reeling, thoughts moving through it like a stream of consciousness. Try though he might, he couldn't see a way of deflecting the conversation. Suki had been fairly direct. And, if he was being honest with himself, it was probably time for this talk. The existence of the emerald engagement ring sitting wrapped in two of his dingiest-looking socks made his whole pretense seem a little ridiculous, anyway.

Suki frowned. "'Oh'?"

"I just- I'm not... this was an unexpected line of questioning," Sokka said lamely, dropping them into another lapse of silence. The tension grew in his stomach, a weight bordering on unbearable, and he watched as Suki practically squirmed in embarrassment across from him. When the silence grew heavier than their discomfort, they both spoke at once.

"I know it's a little weird-" Suki began.

"It's not weird-"

"But, I hadn't really given it much thought, until Song brought it up-"

"It's actually something I've been slowly trying to work my way up to-"

"And I realized that it's something we should probably talk about."

"Yea, I've been thinking about marriage a bit lately."

Silence descended over them again.

Suki blinked twice.

Sokka swallowed a large gulp.

"Wait..." Suki said, her voice trembling a bit. "So, you have?"

"Well, yea," Sokka replied, trying to sound casual and completely failing. "I love you, Suki. I'm happy with you. It's hard not to think about... about the future."

"And what did you think about?"

Sokka repressed a surge of irritation. Of all the times for smooth talking, now was perfect. But, the words stuck in his throat. When he was finally able to muscle his way past his own insecurity, all that came out was a weak, "Marriage."

"Marriage?" she asked pointedly, one brow raising in amused exasperation.

"I thought about it... with you."

"I can see you've dedicated a lot of time to this thought process," she said dryly.

He frowned. "You're putting me on the spot."

"Maybe I was hoping you'd elaborate without me having to coax every word out of you," she shot back.

"You're not exactly a master of expressing your emotions, either, Suki," he replied, working hard to keep an edge out of his tone. "I'd love to hear what you think about marriage."

She raised her chin, almost in defiance. "My thoughts on that subject are sort of complicated-"

"Try me."

"Well, it's not an institution I typically place a lot of value in," she began loftily. "Most arrangements fail."

"It would probably help your mindset not to look at it as an 'arrangement'," Sokka said acidly.

Suki glared at him. "What else is it?"

"An agreement between two people, who both want the same goals-"

"That is a textbook definition of an 'arrangement'-"

"-but the goals are based on mutual love, trust, respect, and devotion," Sokka finished, shooting back a glare just as fierce as Suki's. "You know, I'm not sure that I really want you to elaborate any more on your thoughts on marriage. I feel like I know where this is going."

Her arms crossed over her chest defensively. "What are you, a mind reader? You have no idea what I'm thinking."

"Now who's having to drag words out of who?"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

He threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "What do you want from me, Suki? Yea, I've thought about marrying you. I've thought about it a lot."

"Well," she sniffed, "the idea makes me nervous."

"Shocker."

Suki nearly bared her teeth at him, and he could see a little vein pulsing at her temple. "Did that feel like a helpful contribution to this discussion?"

"Oh, we were having a discussion?" Sokka snapped. "I thought you were telling me about how you hate marriage."

"I never said that," she answered, her nostrils flaring. "And I'm still waiting to hear your convincing 'pro-marriage' argument."

"And that's the problem in a nutshell, Suki," he said darkly. "You should never have to convince someone to get married." He stood, grabbing his pillow from her bed. "I think I'll sleep in my room tonight. I need some space."

Suki scrambled from her seated position on the bed, arms akimbo. "Hold on a second- now, wait a minute, we're not done talking about this!"

"Yes, Suki," Sokka firmly. "For tonight, at least, we are."

A/N: oh no!

This chapter is dedicated to wil02, who's insights are always really valuable to me. Your reviews are much looked-for; I love receiving them. It also seems like we may have a similar sense of humor, which I can always appreciate. Many thank yous.

Bienvenida, revisora invitada! Me disculpo, hablo 'Google Espanol'. Estoy tan feliz de saber que estas disfrutando la historia. Tus comentarios son apreciados!