I'm back :)

3 Years Ago

Aang: 15

Suki: 19

Zuko was so thankful for all that the Kyoshi Warriors had done for him that he practically begged them to take a well-deserved vacation on Ember Island before they returned to Kyoshi Island. The assassination attempts were virtually nonexistent now and they had helped train Zuko's guards to be able to protect the Fire Lord without any additional aid.

What started out as a relaxing day at Ember Island with Suki and her sisters, turned into a bloodbath. Nobody could've expected an ambush there, especially since the Fire Lord was miles away safe in his palace. The Kyoshi Warriors proved that despite the surprise attack, the Ozai Loyalists were no match for them.

Suki scanned the scene before her. She estimated that it had to have been a dozen of them. Their lifeless bodies were scattered across the beach. But why attack them? What was there to be gained? As she was asking these questions to herself, she didn't notice that one of the Ozai Loyalists beside her wasn't fully dead. With what little strength he possessed, he plunged a dagger as deep as possible into Suki's abdomen.

At first, she felt no pain, she was too stunned to fully process what happened. She looked down at the blade dug within her and yanked it out with all her might. The man beneath her feet let out a few breaths of triumphant laughter before succumbing to his fatal wounds.

The reality of the situation finally hit Suki when she saw the blood pouring profusely out of her body. She dropped the blade and crumpled to the ground when the pain was too overwhelming. The physical pain was bad, but the emotional pain was far worse. She and Sokka were finally going to have some stability in their relationship after 3 years of long-distance yearning. Why did it have to end like this? She had faced far more perilous dangers than this, but this is how she was going to go out?

She heard muffled screaming behind her and assumed her Kyoshi sisters were rushing towards her to try and get her to a medic. But Suki knew there was no use. Without a waterbender who could heal, her days were numbered. Just as the other Kyoshi Warriors grabbed her, darkness fell upon her.

When her eyes fluttered open, Suki felt like Appa chewed on her like a watermelon and spat her out. Her head was throbbing and her entire body ached. As she became more lucid, she realized that she was in her room in Ember Island. Was it all a dream? The pain in her stomach when she attempted to sit up assured her that everything had happened as she remembered. Her movements also alerted the other presence in the room.

"Suki!" a male voice that she didn't quite recognize shouted in delight. Before she knew it, she was wrapped around the stranger's arms in a tight embrace. She let out a painful groan at the gesture, but the stranger didn't let go. The orange and yellow she saw in her peripheral vision allowed her to sink into the embrace of the Avatar.

"Sorry." Aang pulled away from her and smiled sheepishly at her. With one arm still wrapped around her, he gathered a few pillows to place behind her so she could sit up a bit more and gently placed her down. "We were all so worried about you."

"Aang? What-what are you doing here?" she muttered out as loudly as she could despite the pain she felt.

"I was with Zuko in the palace when a messenger hawk arrived detailing us about the attack," he said grimly. "I got here as fast as I could."

She nodded and looked down towards her stomach. It was heavily bandaged but how did they stop the bleeding? "I don't understand, I should be dead. How?"

Aang gave her a comforting smile. "Why don't I show you?"

He reached down to start and unravel her bandages and Suki started to dread what she was going to see. As the last part of the bandage was removed, she let out a surprised gasp. What should have been a gnarly wound was simply a bruise. She then watched Aang place his hands on her stomach and watched in awe as his hands turned blue after summoning water.

"You can heal?" she asked incredulously. "Since when?"

"During my last trip to the North Pole, I figured it would be a good idea to learn since I can't always rely on Katara to be around during my Avatar travels," he answered while still working hard on healing. "You are my first live patient," he announced proudly.

"Good thing I was unconscious when you healed me, there was no way I would've allowed you to otherwise," she teased, eliciting a laugh out of Aang. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," he responded quietly. "I-I wasn't sure you were going to make it."

Suki felt the fear in his voice as he spoke. She pictured him working tirelessly trying to heal her, desperate for a sign that she would wake soon. She reached across and gently placed her hand on his chin so he could look her directly in the eyes. "But I did make it. Thanks to you."

They stayed in that position for a few moments, looking at each other deeply in the eyes before she relinquished her hand. She could feel her cheeks burn in embarrassment at the intimacy of the moment and took a look at Aang and saw his were the same while he resumed healing.

"So, were there any survivors?" she asked knowing the vast majority were dead. He simply shook his head. "I don't get why they would attack us. They had to know Zuko wasn't with us."

"Reason or logic doesn't always explain things. Some people just want to bring chaos into the world. Now that the reality of returning Ozai to the throne is a pipe dream for them, they no longer have anything to fight for. Maybe this was revenge for all the things you've done to protect Zuko."

While she understood what she was saying, she still couldn't wrap her mind around her it. "How many do you think are left?"

"I don't know," he replied sadly. "We've been fighting them for a few years now and it seems like they always pop up when we least expect them."

"For what it's worth," she started and waited until he looked her in the eyes to continue, "as long as they're out there, you'll have me by your side to take them on."

Present

The four friends were heading to Haru's village for a pit stop before they made the rest of the journey to Crane Fish Town the following morning. Suki was lucky that Ty Lee was such a chatterbox. The ride had been unbearably uncomfortable and if it wasn't for Ty Lee, Suki might have jumped off Appa altogether to escape the tension radiating from her and Aang.

Normally, she would sit up in the front of the saddle with Aang and the two could talk about nothing for hours. Now, Aang didn't say a single word nor even turn his head to join in on any of the discussions that were going on. Suki was determined to speak with Aang once they landed. She messed up and it was up to her to try and resolve the situation.

Unfortunately, fate had other ideas as when they were low enough, she saw a crowd of people waiting for them. The second they landed, the crowd swarmed Appa and Suki knew that her and Aang's talk would have to wait. The second Aang jumped off Appa, the crowd surrounded him and he was led Spirits knows where. With a sigh, Suki grabbed her belongings and headed towards her room.

Once she got there, she immediately thought about what she wanted to say to Aang when she got the chance. Part of her wished that what happened the previous night meant nothing. Just two friends that got a little carried away, hooked up, and put the whole ordeal behind them. That would be easy. But Suki knew that it wasn't that simple. There was something there. What it was, she had no idea and she knew the only way to figure it out was talking to Aang. She just hoped he'd be willing to hear her out after running off like a coward.

Aang had no idea that being led off with the locals would take up the whole day. Although, it did help lighten his mood. He was sure he had steam coming out of his ears on the way over here. The frustration he felt with Suki was immeasurable. He couldn't believe she would run off before they had a chance to discuss things.

Thinking about that made him feel angry again so he decided to take a dip in one of the hot springs near the village. Because it was so late, he knew that no one would be there and he would have the opportunity to truly relax after an exhausting few days. When he got there after a short walk, he saw that he wasn't the only one who had the idea.

There with her hands behind her head, with her back to him was the girl that was causing all the turmoil he was facing. His first instinct was to head back to his room and not deal with this.

He mentally cursed at himself for having those bitter thoughts. What would be gained from trying to "punish" Suki for avoiding the conversation? Especially since he practically did the same thing after the kiss. He knew this whole situation was difficult for the two of them and Suki was likely scared just like him. With that in mind, he decided that they were going to figure this out right here.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he approached the hot spring.

Suki nearly jumped out of the water from being so startled. When she saw it was Aang, she practically fainted. "No," she said as she tried to regain her composure. "I don't mind."

Aang then proceeded to take off his robe, roll his pants up, and enter the water directly across from her. He let out a contented sigh when he relaxed into a comfortable position. His original plan was to ease into the conversation with some small talk. Suki had other plans.

"I think we should talk about what happened last night," she blurted out.

"I think so too," he replied dryly. "Although it would've been nice to talk about it earlier, but I guess now is ok."

"I know. I'm sorry." She looked up at him and was a bit startled at the intensity of his eyes. "I-I shouldn't have run off like that and I know it was cowardly and -"

"It wasn't just cowardly," he cut her off sharply. "Haru saw you come into my room."

"What!?"

"He wasn't able to see who it was exactly, but he knows some girl came into my room last night and that we slept together. How long will it take him to figure it out? What if someone else saw you and the entire village is gossiping about us. This whole thing could turn into a disaster if we don't play this right."

"I get that," she responded timidly. "I guess I ran off because I didn't know what to say to you. This whole situation is a bit confusing."

Aang let out an ironic laugh at that last remark. "If there is any word I could erase from existence with my Avatar powers, it would be that."

"Huh?"

He shook his head. "Nevermind that," he quickly said. "Look, I don't know what to do about this either. And I'm madder at the situation than I am of you. I mean, I practically did the same thing after the kiss. But, we need to figure this out. The longer we wait, the more awkward things are going to be between us and our friends. We're literally going to see Sokka and Katara tomorrow."

"I know. I wanted to talk to you about it as soon as we landed, but you were carried off to do other things." She let out a deep breath to try and get rid of the nervousness she was feeling. "Can we just pretend l didn't run off like I did and talk about what happened."

"Fine," Aang agreed. "Who should start?"

"I guess it's only fair that I do," Suki said. She tore her eyes away from him and looked down at her feet in the water to think carefully about the next few words that came out of her mouth. "I'm not sure where last night came from. When you arrived at Kyoshi, there was no thought whatsoever that the night would end up how it did. But for whatever reason, as we danced... things changed. I felt something different. I wish I could verbalize what I was feeling when things went the way they did in your room, I really do, but I can't," she finished, still unable to look at him.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two friends before Aang was able to muster up his own response. "I'm in the same boat as you. I don't know where last night came from and the intensity of it all is a bit overwhelming to think about."

"Do you feel guilty?"

Aang didn't need clarity on what she was referring to. "I want to," he admitted. "But I can't say that I do."

"Is it because of-"

"It's all of it!" he snapped.

Aang let out a deep breath to try and cool down. This was probably the first time he had ever shouted at Suki like that and she didn't deserve it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I-I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"It's ok. I know this isn't easy for either of us."

For the next few minutes, Aang just thought about his life. If he was being honest himself, the last few months had taken their toll on him. Katara had always been the biggest staple in his life and without her, he definitely felt the effects of it. Was he simply using Suki to try and fill that void?

When he looked at Suki again, he could tell she too was lost in thought, probably mulling over what her life had turned to. Similar feelings arose within him from the previous night at the party. She was so beautiful and he knew he was 100% attracted to her.

The difference between last night and this moment was that he wasn't fueled by lust. He just wanted to hold her and pretend like the complicated stuff that surrounded them didn't exist. As the Avatar though, something always existed.

One of the most important lessons Aang has learned throughout his life is that sometimes you need to do what makes you happy and not worry too much about what others think. If he and Suki gave this a shot, there is no way around the fact that it would sting Sokka and Katara no matter how much they would deny it. While he wished he could take that away from them, if Suki did want this like he did, they owed it to each other to try.

"I feel something between us," he finally said. He waited for her to look at him before he continued. "I'm not sure what it could lead to… but I'd like to find out if you're up to it."

Worlessessly, Suki plodded through the water until she was face to face with him.

"Ok" was all she whispered before he felt her lips gently press onto his.