Just A Piece Of Your Puzzle

The days passed slowly for him, as he neared closer and closer to the day that he knew he would have to tell them. And the fear grew more and more in the pit of his stomach, grasping him, gripping him. It tugged on his heart, pulling, threatening to make him scream and cry and pounding the ground with his fists while having a fit. But no. He was Sokka, the one that was supposed to be collected in the hard times, scared in the easy times, frightened in the really hard times. So what was he to do?

Every night when everyone else was asleep he would shake, using all the power he could muster not to cry, not to bawl right then and there. The shaking was too much as it was. But as Mako saw Sokka bending, he saw Sokka shaking as well. But not once did he feel sorry for the poor boy. The only thoughts that ran through his mind were, 'It's for the best... The kid's gotta learn sooner or later that the Earth Kingdom, and possibly the whole world, is on his shoulders.' And then he would shake his head, close his eyes, and try to sleep.

It was always Sokka, or so it seemed. Sokka was always the one with the tough times. So what if it was self-inflicted? It was harder for him than it was for Katara or Aang. Katara had Aang and Sokka. Aang had Katara, and even though there was alot of bickering between the two, Aang knew that he always could count on Sokka as well. But what about Sokka? Even if Mako knew about him being the Earth Bender, it wasn't like Sokka could go talk to him. And Katara and Aang didn't know about Sokka being an Earth Bender, 'The One', so he couldn't go talk to them. It had always been Gran, she was the one that he turned to in his times of need. And now, because of Aang, she was gone.

'That stupid Avatar just had to take away the only person that I could count on during my times of need!' Sokka would think as soon as he found a way to stop shaking, and he would scowl at the dark top of the tent before attempting to sleep again.

And every morning, Sokka would be tired, bags under his eyes and yawning continously. But he would still get up at sunrise, sometimes even before, as it was hard for him to sleep, and try to go about life as 'normal'. Yet every day Sokka found himself thinking, 'What is normal? While we were with Gran what normal was was simple, just do the same thing every day, occasionally changing the schedule to fit your needs. But now, I can't seem to get anything right!'

It was on the day that Sokka was forced to tell them that he was the Earth Bender that Katara realized that Sokka was getting very little sleep, and as he was putting up sticks to make a fire she said to him in a concerned tone, "Sokka, are you okay?"

And to that Sokka had replied in a gruff voice, "I'm fine." She had left the matter alone after that, but did not fail to notice that he had not bothered to put his hair up; it had grown some, pieces of hair falling down his forehead and covering up his eyebrows. One side of his head had his hair tucked behind his ear, while the other side had hair covering half his right ear. The back of his hair fell neatly near the top of his neck, having obviously been combed earlier.

She had wanted to ask, "Why did you not put your hair up?" And yet, she decided against it, figuring it would just bring out an angry response from Sokka, seeing as he didn't make the happiest reply when she asked him if he was okay. And saying, "I'm fine"? "Good" or "great" or even "bad" or "horrible" are words you use when you actually mean it, and what to talk, or aren't entirely upset. But "I'm fine"? That's what you say to people when you don't really want to talk to them, you just want them to leave you alone. To accept that offer and move on.

'I wonder what's wrong with him,' Katara thought. 'He's always grumpy this time of day, but not like this.' She wanted to know so badly, and soon she would. Soon she'd know things that she never knew, things she'd never want to believe. And she'd be angry.

"Sokka?" Aang had asked, an hour after Katara held that two sentenced conversation with him.

"What?" Sokka had barked in reply, his tone annoyed.

"Are you okay? You seem... different this morning."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Actually..." Mako butted in slowly, looking first at Sokka then at Aang. Then he yelled, "I would like everyone to gather around the fire!" Sokka glared at him, but Mako just shrugged it off and whispered to the young Earth Bender, "There's no time like the present." Sokka gave a defeated sigh, sitting down on a log as everyone else did.

"What's all this about?" Katara questioned.

"Packing our bags can wait a couple of minutes, Katara," Gero told her, hearing some of the impatience in her voice. She sighed, nodding.

"It seems that Sokka has something to tell everyone," Mako stated, his eyes staring daggers at Sokka, who was staring into the dancing flames.

"I'manEarthBender," Sokka blurted out so fast that only Mako's and Gero's trained ears could hear him. Not even the other older Earth Bender could understand the words.

"What?" Aang, Katara, and Picco said at the same time.

"He's an Earth Bender," Gero said quietly.

"The One," Mako agreed, his voice not as quiet.

"And why did he not tell us?" Picco demanded. Katara and Aang just sat there, frozen. And all Sokka did was stare at the fire.

"It's not true!" Aang suddenly blurted out. "He's a Water Bender... That can't bend."

The color rushed into Sokka's face, his face turning slightly red with anger as he stood up, his fists clenched. "I can too bend!" he shouted at the Avatar, jaw quivering. His hands moved quickly, and two large rocks floated into the air, zooming right at Aang from behind. Everyone gasped, but just as they were about to hit the Avatar, Sokka sent them flying upwards, then let them rest on the ground near the fire. Then Sokka sat back down, letting his hands relax and taking a deep breath.

"You - you kept this from us!" Katara shouted, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her cheeks. "What other secrets are you hiding from us?"

"None," Sokka said simply. "Unless you consider me being 'adopted' a secret."

"Yeah, I kinda do."

"Well, you know that now too, so it isn't a secret anymore."

"Why wouldn't -- why didn't... why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell us?" As she said 'us', her finger pointed at herself then at Aang.

"First, Gran said she would tell you. Second, when was I supposed to do it? Had I done it any other time the result would have been like this, maybe even worse!"

"And how do you know that?"

"You're my sister, Katara. I know you."

Katara was silent. She knew that he was adopted now... And he had still called her his sister? "You know that we aren't real siblings, right?" she asked softly, staring at the ground.

"We have been forever, Katara... Why should it change now?"

"I just.. And..." Katara mentally slapped herself. 'Speak in complete sentences!' she commanded herself, then said aloud, "You were adopted.."

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"It's not as big a deal as you make it, Katara."

The other three Earth Benders had no choice but to just watch the interaction between the two siblings, trying to speak in between replies but failing each time. But as soon as there was a pause, Gero said, "Shall we resume packing?" And everyone nodded, going straight to what they were supposed to be packing.

A/n: Yeah, I know it's kinda short again but it's the only way I can get these chapters up... I tried to do it longer today but I ended up having to erase a couple of paragraphs at the end because when I made it longer it just didn't sound right when I read it. So anyway, enjoy!