Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to avatar the last Airbender.

~0~

The winds of Ba Sing Se always held an air of foreboding for Sokka. The last time they were here, the earth kingdom fell to the Fire Nation, and before that, the Dai Li had been keeping track of their every move, going as far as to keep Appa from them. He hoped now that the war was over, the feeling would change. But he feels as if he is waiting for the inevitable once again. He was prepared for everything during this war, attacks, separation, and even death. But one thing he didn't prepare for was heartbreak.

The sun slowly falls into the horizon as night begins to rise. The sunsets are beautiful in Ba Sing Se. His seat on the balcony gives him a perfect view.

(He already lost so much. His first love, Yue, now the moon spirit. Something he hadn't expected but learned to live with. He had the comfort of knowing she was always with him and let himself believe she was still watching and guiding his family through troubling times. Suki once suggested that since his sword was made from a meteorite from the sky, Yue had sent it to him. It was that moment he realized he loved Suki. While Yue was his first love, Suki would be his last.)

It was easy to ignore the future when you didn't know if you would live to see the next sunrise. So easy to forget that there was a life after the war. Time brings change. It doesn't matter how many times you pray to the spirits to let time stop, it will always move. It is truly the only constant in this world. And time has decided for Sokka to look to the future.

Sokka always imagined his future would be in the Southern Water Tribe, helping to rebuild. That was the plan at the beginning of their journey. But now, he is torn. Torn between the life he always believed was destiny, and the future he can picture clearly, with her.

He's pretty sure Suki is gonna break up with him today. He can feel it in the air—her distant stare, to her hand clutching his a little too tight. This past week he's been trying to give her space to figure things out. And if he's honest with himself, he's also providing space to himself and trying to avoid the inevitable. But her constant requests to see him can't be avoided forever; everything feels like it's leading to goodbye.

"Hey, Sokka-"

"I didn't do it!" Sokka spins around to see the very person his thoughts can't escape from.

"Whoa, settle down there swordmaster." Suki chuckles. "what's got you all, jumpy?"

Sokka sighs. This is it. No more avoiding the inevitable. Now or never. He thinks, "I was just distracted..."

"clearly," she teases as she takes a seat beside him. "Wanna talk about it?"

Her presence is so calming, so easy. No judgment, just support. No matter what he says or does, he knows she would never judge him. La, I'm gonna miss you. "I was thinking about us..."

Suki stiffens at the word 'us.' She looks to the side, facing away from him as her fingers fidget with her robes' sleeves. "Oh. I- I see." She straightens her posture, something Sokka's learned she only does that when she lacks confidence in her words, but determined to say them anyway. "Well, I guess we should talk about it... about us..."

Sokka sighs, but smiles at her nonetheless as she turns to face him once again. No need to make her feel uncomfortable. "So... I-"

"Before you say anything-" Suki interrupts suddenly. "I just want to say that I know you need to help rebuild that Southern Water Tribe and I need to help rebuild my island, but that doesn't mean we have to break up-"

Sokka freezes. Wait... What? "Um-"

Suki continues as if she didn't even hear him speak, "I know it might be- will be- difficult. But I could visit you, or you visit me! Or both! We could also write.-I'm a pretty good writer too. I learned all my writing skills at one of the best academies on Kyoshi- well, there is only the one academy on the island- but that's not the point!" She takes a breath to calm herself. "Look, I know you might not think it's worth it but, there are only so many things we can hold onto in this crazy, messed-up world" her hand catches his as she continues to speak, "and love is one of them. I don't want to risk losing you because of something as fickle as distance. I'm not gonna force you to stay if you don't want to. But on the off chance, you think this might be worth it, I would like to try."

Sokka's not sure what to say. He was expecting a long speech about how it was good while it lasted. Or crying. Or maybe even a letter, but certainly not this. He continues to stare at her, until the confused look she gives him makes him realize he has yet to speak. And her hand is still holding his. He gathers his courage and squeezes it back to let her know he's alive. "Sorry. I just- Did I hear you right? You don't want to break up?"

The shocked look on her face confirms his suspicions that he did, in fact, hear her right. "You thought I wanted to break up with you?" her face shifts from shocked to accusatory, "You've avoided me all week! I thought you were trying to let me off easy!"

Sokka puts his hands up in defense, "What?" I was just giving you space! You kept looking at me like I punched a cat all week-"

"Punched a cat? Who would punch a cat?-"

"The cat punching isn't the point here!"

Suki lifts her hands up in defense, "you're the one who brought it up not me-"

"Anyway," Sokka interjects, desperately trying to get back on topic. "As I was saying, You were sending all these signals. Like wanting to be around me all the time and holding my hand a lot more frequently and tighter than usual- You know, now that I'm saying this out loud-" He stops at the sound of laughter.

Suki snorts, obviously trying, and failing, to contain herself. "I'm sorry- I," she snorts again, "I just-" she breathes heavily, catching her breath. "Let me just get this straight... You thought me 'wanting to spend time with you' and 'holding your hands tighter' means I want to end things between us?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." he pouts.

Her laughter dies down, and she gently places her hand in his, squeezing softly to reassure him it was all in good fun. "Hey, we both made assumptions we shouldn't have. Granted yours were way more embarrassing than mine, but- you know what? Let's just drop that altogether." She takes a breath. "So... you don't want to break up?"

Sokka smiles at the hopeful tone in her voice and squeezes her hand. "Absolutely not."

Suki's body instantly relaxes, and she squeezes back. "Okay. Good... So..."

"So..." he mirrors.

"So..." Suki exhales, "what now?"

"Well, it's like you said, right now, you have a duty to your people on Kyoshi Island, and I have a duty to my tribe. But I've learned that things change with time, and maybe we can't be physically together all the time right now, but who's to say what the future holds?"

Sokka decides to let go of her hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her. "Besides, I'm really excited to read your extremely well-crafted letters. I hear they're excellent," He teases.

Suki hits his chest lightly. "Shut up, I was nervous."

The blush on her face compels him to kiss her cheek, so he does."Y,ou're adorable."

Suki laughs at the childish gesture and flicks his nose in response. "And you, my swordmaster, are impossible."

"True, but you love me, anyway." The statement is casual, but the implication means the world to him.

Suki shifts closer to him, melting into his embrace. "Yes," she sighs, "yes, I do."

~0~

Sokka sighs in relief. The future isn't set in stone. But no matter how many times he imagines a future, there is never a future where Suki isn't in it.