Putting It Together
The tavern was dimly lit, but that suited Sokka just fine. It matched the shadows that had descended on his heart!. The agonizing, corrosive shadows that made him doubt that he would ever know love!. The shadows that clawed their way into his life, and tore it apart just like Momo tears about a paper bag when he's hungry and can smell the food inside and Sokka was really looking forward to that snack but everyone else just laughed!
Shadows!
Sokka downed the rest of the liquid in his mug and plopped it on the bar. "Another!" Even though it was his eighth, the bartender complied without question. Sokka took a long pull from the new mug, but took no enjoyment in it. His soul was shadowy like the bottom of an empty mug in a dimly lit tavern.
Dim! Shadows!
His life would never know light again, now that Suki had betrayed him.
The bartender left the Water Tribe guy to his miseries and went into the back. The guy was drinking cheap today, so the bartender had no qualms about getting some work done, unpacking some crates for tonight's crowd, while the guy cried into his mug. He thought he had seen the guy around on Kyoshi Island, but he had certainly never visited this tavern before. Probably another transient sailor who came and went, knowing no home but the various watering holes in ports around the world.
The bartender sighed. It sounded like a fine life.
He was so lost in the daydreams of living out of a sealskin bag that he never saw where the black-haired Kyoshi Warrior came from. "Sorry sir, but we're going to have to requisition your establishment for some official Kyoshi Warrior business."
The bartender's jaw dropped. "But, I-"
"Sir, if you set one foot back into that bar, I'm going to have my associate here disable your limbs."
From somewhere behind him, another Kyoshi Warrior materialized. She was grinning like a loon, or a perky teenage girl, and waved in a very friendly manner.
The bartender decided that he could use a long break, before the evening shift. He left without a word.
Suki found Sokka sitting at the bar, as reported. He had an impressive stack of empty mugs next to him. Suki hoped he wasn't too gone to have a conversation with her. She very much wanted to know why he was wasting the time for their latest visit in this grubby tavern. "Sokka?"
"Shadows!"
Well, at least he wasn't slurring his words. "Sokka, what's wrong?"
He lurched to stare at her, pointing a finger that was so accusatory it was practically pointing a finger of its own. "You've left me in your dust, sister! I can take a hint, and I'm not going to stick around for the final battle! I'll be out on the first boat back to the South Pole!"
Suki stepped towards him, taking his pointing hand in her own and lowering it. "Sokka, I don't want you to leave. How could you ever think that?"
"I got eyes!" He pointed at them by way of demonstration. Apparently not impressed by her expression, he pointed again, more vigorously, this timing managing to poke himself.
When he recovered, he turned back to his nearly-empty mug. "I've been putting it all together, sister. I know you've moved on to better. Just let me drown my sorrows."
"Sokka, you're being ridiculous. Just tell me what's wrong."
"First!" he screeched. He turned back to her, his eyes wide. "First, was Zuko!"
"Zuko?"
Summer. Ember Island. The Fire Lord's beach house. A gathering of friends.
"Hey, Zuko," Suki said, staring at him. "You're really bulked up since last time we were here."
"Yeah." The scarred Firebender looked down at his bare chest. "It took me a while to put the weight back on after my time as a fugitive in the Earth Kingdom. I've been eating protein, and working out. I used to look like this, back when I was searching for the Avatar."
"Nice."
"That's it?"
"You were checking him out!"
Suki wasn't sure if he was joking. She cautiously sat down at the bar, next to him. "Sokka, I just commented on his build. I did the same for Aang, when I noticed how tall he'd grown."
"AANG TOO?"
"No. Besides, you were right there when I talked to him! You weren't upset with me then!"
Sokka sighed. "Then there's what came after that."
Summer. Ember Island. The festival. Mingling with the crowds.
"Hey, baby."
"I have a name," was Suki's quick reply.
"Want to give it to me? Among other things?"
"Get lost, loser."
"Yeah, loser. She has a boyfriend. Me."
The young man was unimpressed. "Listen, buddy, I'm Ruon Jian. Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"Her. Boyfriend."
"Yeah, whatever. So, baby, I know a nude beach on the other side of the island. Want to ditch this spaz and check it out?"
That's when Suki shoved a knee into his crotch.
"Oh, come one, you can't possibly turn that against me!"
"No," Sokka said, voice low. "That was against me."
"What?"
"I'm just not enough. Other guys can see it, and they aren't intimidated by me. Everyone can see you're in a class above me. It was only a matter of time before you saw it, too, sister."
Suki wanted to smack her own forehead hard enough to smear the facepaint on it. What had gotten into Sokka? "What has gotten into you?"
Sokka slammed a fist on the bar. "I had all the clues, but I didn't see it until I got here. Once I heard, I put it all together. I saw clearly for the first time! It was all over, and you were just too nice to tell me."
"Oh, for- Sokka, tell me what's wrong."
"You've been kissing someone else!"
She blinked. Sokka's finger was up again. "Sokka, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't you?"
"Not really, no. I don't even have an attractive cousin you can mistake for a romantic rival. I am completely in the dark." Suki looked around. "Literally and metaphorically."
"Oh yeah? Well, when I got off the boat this morning, The Duke told me that you kissed someone else today!"
"What? Tell me exactly what he said."
Today. Kyoshi Island. The docks. Getting off the boat.
"Hey, Sokka."
"Hey, The Duke. How you doing here on Kyoshi Island?"
"It's great! I'm learning how to be a fisherman!"
"Great. Suki around?"
"She's on duty. But, you know, this morning she kissed another guy."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"So go ahead." Sokka waved a defeated hand. "Deny it. Admit it. It doesn't matter. I get it now. I'm sorry I've been dragging you down."
"The Duke was right."
"Uh huh."
"He gave me a fish today, for my dinner, and when I asked what he wanted for it, he asked for a kiss. So I gave him one on the forehead."
Sokka sat in silence for a while. Then he drained the last of his drink, stood up, and turned to look Suki directly in the eyes. "Honest?"
"Honest."
"I'm going to kill that kid."
Suki smiled. "Let me have a talk with him. I'll let him know what isn't appropriate behavior for a precocious crush."
Sokka smiled back. "Sounds good. So, when do you get off duty?"
"What, you're just shaking off that many drinks? Don't you need a nap or something?"
"Nah, I was just drinking water. Booze dehydrates a body, so pretty much everyone in the Water Tribe hates it."
"Huh," Suki said. Then she left arm in arm with her boyfriend.
END
