"What are you sighing so dramatically about?"

Sokka jumped at the sound of Mai's voice. "Geez, don't sneak up on me like that."

She didn't bother to respond to this comment and instead leaned against the railing next to him. "So?"

"So what?"

"What's eating you? There's obviously something."

He frowned at his hands. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"No."

He gave her his most unimpressed look. "Sometimes I wonder why we're friends."

Her lips curved into that little twitch-smile, though it was gone a second later. "I won't laugh."

Sokka continued to frown at her, but then he sighed and slumped more against the railing. "I miss boomerang."

"Wait, this is about your boomerang?"

"You said you wouldn't laugh."

"I'm not." And it was true there was no glint of humour in her eyes. "I just didn't expect that this would be what's troubling you."

"Hey, that boomerang was my first weapon. Dad made it for me when I was a kid and everything. It's saved my butt so many times. It was even what …" All the defensiveness seemed to deflate out of him, and he moistened his lips. "It was what helped me save you back on that drill."

She averted her face, showing him the unscarred side. "Oh."

Their hands were close on the railing. His fingers inched a bit closer, pinky almost brushing hers, but he pulled back at the last second. A small breath escaped his lips and he fixed his gaze on the ocean. "I just … that weapon was mine, you know? It was my thing. I'm not a bender, I don't really stand out at all compared to all of you, but I knew how to use that boomerang. I was good at it." He shook his head, shoulders slumping. "But now it's gone. I just … I feel like I have nothing. I feel like I'm nothing."

And that was frustrating. It was like all the doubts and insecurities that had plagued him in Ba Sing Se were bubbling back up again.

Mai pressed her fingertip hard into the creases between his eyebrows.

"Hey!" He rubbed at the spot.

"You know what that was for."

"Uh, no I don't. Here I am trying to have a serious conversation with you, and you just decide to poke me in the head."

"That's because you're being dumb."

He opened his mouth to retort, but she placed her fingers to his lips.

"My turn to talk."

He swallowed, conscious of how her skin brushed the hypersensitive part of his lower lip.

"You've always been more than a guy with a boomerang, Sokka. You're smart. You pretty much planned the whole counterattack against Azula in Ba Sing Se, not to mention all the strategies you've come up with for the eclipse. And you are a good warrior. I've seen you fight plenty to know that."

His eyes widened a fraction. He'd never heard her give so many compliments—not to anyone.

She removed her hand from his mouth. "So don't say you're nothing. A weapon doesn't define you. Boomerang or not, you're still you, and …" Faint colour touched her cheeks. "I like that guy I've got to know. I like being with you, even if you do make dumb jokes sometimes."

It felt like his breath had got lost somewhere in his throat. "You like me?"

Her eyes widened like a startled deerfox. She stepped back and looked the other way, though not before he caught the way her blush darkened. "I mean as a friend. Obviously."

"Right." His heart stumbled a little on its rhythm. "Obviously."

Nervous tension. Awkward tension. Her explanation lingered between them, flimsier than a cobweb. It would be so easy to tear it down. The truth already stared at him from the tawny eyes that snuck glances his way and the memory of an almost kiss on a beach.

He swallowed again. The space between them suddenly seemed charged, little ripples of sparks tugging him closer. When the sea breeze ruffled her hair, his fingers itched to trace the path of the short black strands that caressed and cradled her face.

"Mai, I …"

She turned more towards him. Scarred. Beautiful. His gaze flickered to her lips, then back to her eyes.

Thunk!

They both flinched. Jee and Bato's voices rose up in a swift scold at some poor sod from farther down deck, but Sokka didn't pay attention to their words. The moment had been shattered, and with it came all the sinking weight and wriggling knots in his stomach.

Suki. His girlfriend was Suki.

"I should go," he mumbled.

She didn't stop him, and he knew he should be grateful for that. It would be dangerous to keep toeing this line with her. Yet when he glanced over his shoulder, meeting her eyes for one poignant beat, the weight pressing down on him only seemed to get worse.

He had to go, but everything in his heart whispered stay.

oOo

"And that's how you fully paralyse a person with chi blocking," Ty Lee said with a broad grin, even as her volunteer, Tomoki, groaned at her feet like a limp fish. "Any questions?"

Hands immediately shot into the air. Almost everyone had gathered in the mess hall for Ty Lee's lesson. She'd explained how not even Shūrin was immune to chi blocking, which had resulted in a request for her to teach anyone on the ship who was interested. There was no saying what the future would bring. No one wanted to be bonded and controlled by Shūrin if they could help it; they'd all seen what happened to her victims.

"Um, does it come with an unblock technique?" Tomoki ventured. "I still can't move."

"Oops. Sorry, cutie."

Ty Lee returned him to full mobility and then got everyone to split into pairs so they could practice doing the basic motions (though without actually attempting to chi block). She walked around and gave pointers. Suki and Sokka ended up being partners, which would have been fine had he not been finding it increasingly more uncomfortable to be around her. His chest felt heavy and his stomach was a wriggle of knots. The worst part was that she had done nothing wrong. It was all him and his stupid, muddled feelings.

Involuntarily, his eyes scanned the room and found Mai standing off to the side. She'd come to the lesson in a show of support for her friend, but it seemed she had no desire to learn chi blocking. Toph soon joined her and the two girls started chatting.

"Hey." Suki's hand waved in front of him. "Space case."

He blinked. "Sorry."

They kept practicing. Ty Lee came over and praised them both for picking it up so quickly, though she did notice that Sokka's approach was a little different to what she had taught.

"I learnt some techniques from Shizue," he explained with a shrug.

"Really?" Her hand latched onto his arm and she flashed a quick smile at Suki. "Sorry, gorgeous, but I'm going to borrow your boyfriend for a bit. I'll find you a new partner."

Sokka and Suki barely had time to blink before he was whisked off. He offered some feeble protests, which were ignored, and soon found himself acting as Ty Lee's assistant. It actually wasn't so bad. Shizue's style was much more aggressive than Ty Lee's, and that allowed for a bit of variety and blending of the two. Not everyone, after all, could be as evasive and acrobatic as an airbender.

"Of course chi blocking isn't something you can master in a few weeks," Ty Lee warned them at the end of the lesson. "This is a skill that takes precision and speed. I'll teach you what I can, but in most cases you'll be safer sticking to your weapons or bending."

Sokka couldn't argue with that. Her warning was exactly why he'd continued to rely on his weapons even after learning from Shizue. Powerful as chi blocking could be, there was no room for mistakes and he was by no means a master. It was best to view the skill as a "just in case" thing for now.

Suki came up to him afterwards, bumping his arm with her own. "You've been holding back on me."

He didn't respond. His gaze had sought Mai again, and he was too busy wondering if he should approach her or not. They hadn't talked much since their little moment on the deck. In fact, he was pretty sure she was avoiding him. Logic told him this should have been a good thing, should have made it easier. But he missed her. Missed her dry humour, the way her lips twitched when she was trying not to smile …

"Sokka?"

"Huh?" He blinked at Suki. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

Some of the brightness faded in her eyes. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

He tilted his head in question but didn't push further. She'd tell him if it was actually important.

"I'll see you later," she said, patting him on the arm.

"Er, I thought you wanted to get some extra training in after this. You know, the two of us."

"Changed my mind. I think I'll just practice some more on my own."

"Are you sure? I can—"

"It's fine." Her lips curved into that teasing smile he knew so well. "A girl needs her alone time as well."

"Oh. Okay."

She smiled again, then walked off.

An arm suddenly came around his shoulders, and he jumped a little as he found Ty Lee next to him. "Oh, cutie, you messed up."

"Huh?"

She nodded at Suki's retreating back. "Aren't you going to follow her?"

"But she said she wanted to be alone."

"Actually, what she said was her dummy boyfriend is making her feel like she doesn't mean anything to him, so she'd rather not spend time with him right now." Her lips quirked. "You're the dummy in this situation, by the way."

His eyes widened. "W-what? How can you even know—"

"Trust me."

"But—"

"C'mon, cutie, I thought you were smart."

He frowned and once more thought over his conversation with Suki. She hadn't seemed that upset. She'd even smiled flirtatiously, though now that he thought about it, he supposed her smile had been a bit strained.

"Are you sure?" he had to ask.

"I'm basically a girl whisperer."

"Girl whisperer?"

"I'm good with girls. Reading between the lines, figuring out what they want." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Keeping them satisfied."

"Oh."

A beat.

Wait, was she saying what he thought she was?

She tugged him closer by the arm she had slung over his shoulder. "Anyway, my point is that Suki isn't too happy with you right now. So, what are you gonna do?"

"You said I should follow her …"

"Wrong. I asked if you're going to follow her. That's a completely different thing."

His nose scrunched. Ty Lee was confusing.

"Look, I know something is troubling you," she said more gently. "Your aura is normally such a lovely orange colour, and while it's exciting to see some bright pink in there, there's also a lot of muddy blue."

The look he gave her couldn't have been more flat. "Come again?"

She giggled and removed her arm from around him. "You look just like Mai when you give me that expression."

His heart stirred a little at the mention of Mai's name, though his expression did not change. "I don't speak auras, Ty Lee. I don't believe in auras."

"Most people don't," she allowed with a shrug, "but I can see them, and yours is telling me that you're scared."

"Scared?"

"To admit the truth. To be honest about your feelings."

His gaze skittered to where Mai and Toph were now heading out of the mess hall. "I …"

The silence dragged.

"It's okay. You can tell me. I won't judge."

He frowned at his hands. "I'm not really scared. I just … I feel guilty."

"Because you don't like Suki in that way anymore?"

"No, I do. I do like her. She's amazing and beautiful and funny and—"

"But then there's Mai."

A breath whooshed from his lips. "How did you know?"

"I'm a bit of a boy whisperer as well." She winked.

Sokka once more frowned at his hands. "Alright fine, I do like Mai."

There. He'd said it. It was out there now and couldn't be taken back.

Ty Lee let out a delighted shriek and clapped her hands. "I knew it!"

"Hey, not so loud."

"Sorry." She sobered immediately. "So, you're feeling guilty because you like both of them?"

"Yes. No." He groaned and clutched at his hair. "I don't know. Everything is so confusing. Suki is my girlfriend and she's been nothing but amazing to me, but Mai …"

Mai was special. Mai had become his best friend and so much more. He couldn't imagine not having her in his life.

"Talk it out," Ty Lee said. "It'll help you sort through your feelings."

He sighed and sat down on one of the benches. She joined him, hugging one leg to her chest so she could rest her chin on her knee. The two of them were the only ones in the mess hall now. Sokka took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I guess … I guess I just feel like I'm not allowed to like Mai. I was already dating Suki when we started to get close, and I tried my best to shut those feelings down because I didn't want to do that to Suki, but the truth is …"

"What?"

"I'm not sure I ever really loved Suki." He swallowed, fingers curling into his palms. "I like her. I'm not saying I don't, but when I ran into her again at Half Moon Bay, I was still trying to get over Yue …"

"Yue?"

"My first girlfriend. I thought she was the one. It was love at first sight and it all happened so fast, but it was perfect. She was perfect." His voice took on a weighty tone. "But during the siege of the North, she … she gave up her life to become the new Moon Spirit."

Ty Lee's eyes widened. "Wow." A blink. "I mean, I'm so sorry. That must have been so hard for you. It's just … wow. Your first girlfriend turned into the moon."

A sad smile was tugged out of him. "Crazy, right?" He exhaled and shook his head. "The thing is, for a long time I blamed myself. I couldn't let go of the guilt, and I couldn't let go of her. So when Suki turned up in my life again and still seemed interested in me, I didn't know what to do. I was confused, guilty, but I also liked being around Suki. I … I guess I wanted to try. I wanted to try move on, and I thought it was what Yue would want for me as well."

"So you agreed to date her?"

He nodded. "Suki chose not to travel with us then, but I accepted that. We knew we'd meet again eventually, and I was still busy helping Aang. I had no idea I'd end up …"

"Falling for Mai."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah."

Ty Lee made a humming sound, tapping her finger to her chin. "You said you don't think you've ever really loved Suki. Does that mean you love Mai?"

"I-I, well, um …" Warmth spread all over his face.

"I'm going to take that as a maybe."

He covered his face with his hands. "Okay, maybe yes. Maybe I do. But it just crept up on me, you know? I didn't plan for this! I didn't plan to have all these feelings!"

"Hey, hey. I get it. Love is pretty uncontrollable."

His shoulders slumped. "Yeah, well, now I just feel like a big jerk. I don't want to hurt Suki. I owe it to her to—"

"See, that right there is your problem."

He blinked.

"The only thing you owe Suki is the truth. You rushed into a relationship with her when you weren't sure of your own feelings, and that's totally understandable. No judgement here. But love isn't stagnant. It can't be forced either."

"Then you think I should break up with her?"

"I think you need to make a decision. If you really want to be with her, then fine. Forget Mai. Work on what you have with Suki." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "But don't stay with her out of a sense of obligation. Don't force yourself to love her if you've already given your heart to another. That'll only hurt you both."

He went quiet for a long moment, staring at his hands.

Ty Lee nudged him with her elbow. "Hey, wanna see something cool?"

"Er, what?"

She whipped out her hand from her pocket and suddenly a little marble was spinning round and round in the space between her hands.

Sokka stared. And stared. Then his lips twitched and laughter bubbled free. "That's Aang's trick."

"Yip!"

Geez, she even wore the same stupid grin as him when she did it.

"He taught it to me before he left," she explained. "Even let me borrow his marble. He also promised to teach me how to make cakes with airbending when he gets back."

"Sounds like he's not teaching you very useful skills."

The happy brightness in her eyes dimmed and she let the marble drop into her palm. "Who says they're not useful?"

All he could do was blink. She was kidding, right?

"Shūrin taught me how to use the wind in ways she thought useful. I can make ships go faster, I can hurt people. If I really wanted, I could even use this marble to kill someone. One wind-powered hit to the head, and bam! You're dead."

His eyes widened. That was some creative thinking.

Ty Lee sighed, shoulders slumping. "But I don't care about those things. I want to learn other stuff."

"I get that, but I mean … there's a war going on."

"Just because there's a war going on doesn't mean that fun has no place in this world. If anything, I think it's even more important."

The corner of his mouth lifted a fraction. "No wonder you and Aang hit it off so well. He says the same thing. Used to drive me nuts."

She smiled, though the expression seemed softer and more for herself. "We do get along well. I've never met someone so in tune with me."

"Maybe it's an airbender thing?"

A shrug. "Maybe."

Silence settled between them, natural and comfortable.

"Hey." He bumped her with his shoulder. "Wanna show me that trick again?"

Her grin flashed. "You got it! One spinning marble coming right up!"

It really was a dumb trick. Still, he smiled as he watched her make the marble zip round and round, able to understand now that she'd only done it in the first place to cheer him up. Ty Lee was a good friend like that. He was glad to have her on his side.

oOo

The moon was bright that night. Sokka leaned against the railing and admired the way she lit up the sky. It was something he often did, though the sting of grief had lessened of late. He still felt sad, but it was a different kind of sad. Less bone-deep and more like the sigh for a dream that couldn't be.

"I'll always be grateful I met you, Yue," he whispered.

He didn't think he'd ever forget her. She'd always be his first love, always have a special place in his memories. But he also knew that his heart didn't belong to her anymore. Somewhere, somehow, he'd given it away to another. Yue had made her choice when she'd offered up her life, and now he had to make his.

Sokka let out a breath and turned to head towards the cabins. He paused when he spotted Suki approaching him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey."

There was an awkward pause. In the background, he could hear Bato and his dad giving directions to someone near the starboard side.

"A little more to the left," Bato said. "No, my left! My left!"

Sokka would have normally smiled or made a joke then, but the mood didn't feel right. Not for what he was about to do. "Suki, I—"

"I think we should break up."

His jaw dropped. "What?"

It was what he had been about to say himself, but still. How unexpected.

"I like you, Sokka," she said, meeting his eyes frankly. "I like you, and I want to give you a chance. But I can't keep pretending I don't see how you really feel. Our relationship can't work if your heart's not in it."

He lowered his gaze. "Oh."

"You admit it then? You admit you don't want to be with me?"

He wished for her sake he could have said no, but that would be a lie. "I think it's more that I can't be with you now," he confessed. "You're amazing, Suki. You're funny, beautiful, one of the best warriors I've met. I'd have to be crazy not to like you, but …"

"You love someone else."

A hesitant nod. "I'm sorry. It just … happened."

She sighed. "Figured as much. It's Mai, isn't it?"

"Wait, how'd you—"

"You're really not subtle."

He groaned and slapped his palm to his forehead. "I'm so sorry. You must think I'm a total jerk." He peeped at her from between his fingers. "But why didn't you say something earlier if you knew?"

"Like I said, I wanted to give you a chance. And even if I had my suspicions, I didn't know for sure."

"Oh."

Another awkward pause, this one longer.

"For what it's worth," he murmured, "I really do think you're an amazing person."

"Thanks, but it's fine. I'll admit I wish you could have been honest with me sooner, but it's not like I'm blaming you. We went our own ways, you moved on. It happens." She let out a breath and glanced at the dark waters all around them. "Besides, if I had to lose you to someone, I guess I'm okay with it being her."

"You are?"

"She's good for you. Even I can see that."

Their eyes met, and he was once again struck by how strong and mature Suki really was. In another life, perhaps he would have even fallen in love with her—at least had Mai not come into the picture. It wasn't like he was blind to the connection between them. The attraction and sparks were all there, but the depth of those feelings were more like a nice lake when compared with the ocean he'd discovered with Mai. There was no way he could ignore that.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say," she said, and turned to leave. "Goodnight, Sokka."

"Wait."

She glanced over her shoulder, one eyebrow rising.

"I know we just broke up and all, but I hope we can still be friends. Uh, that is if you want to. You can also tell me to throw myself in an ice hole if you'd prefer. I'll understand."

Her lips curved a fraction. "We can do friends."

Sokka smiled in relief and watched her until she passed from his view. He was sure things would still be a bit tense between them for a while, but he really did hope they could make it work as friends. Suki was a girl worth knowing.

oOo

"Come, Avatar."

Aang's eyes snapped open. He could still hear the deep voice, still feel the insistent tug on his spirit. As if in trance, he pushed the blankets off him and stood up, dislodging Momo in the process. The lemur chittered in protest. Not that Aang noticed. He was already walking towards the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Azula's voice slipped through his ears, oddly distant. The command to find the one in his dream was so much louder, so much clearer. It spoke to his soul.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Blue flames blossomed to light above her palm. Aang didn't even twitch and simply opened the door and made his way out of the house. A part of him was conscious of her following, even demanding him to stop, but he couldn't. The voice was calling him and he had to follow.

"Oi!" A warrior stepped in front of him. "You can't just—"

Aang blasted him back with wind and kept walking. Shouts followed. More warriors tried to stop his path. Suddenly, blue fire surged in a wall around him. Azula had stepped in to help, even as she called him an idiot and demanded he tell her what was going on. Except his mouth didn't want to work. It couldn't. Everything was a haze—Azula, the warriors, the caves, his own thoughts. It was like he was dreaming, like his consciousness wasn't quite connected with his body.

"Come."

The command tugged and tugged. His feet were bare and his toe caught an upraised bit of rock, skin splitting and dribbling blood. He barely noticed the pain.

"Idiot, what are you trying to do?" Azula hissed in frustration. "Can't you see there's too many of them? We have to—"

Her body juddered, words faltering as she took a hit from behind. The shock of seeing her fall was enough to snap him out of his trance.

"No!" he cried.

The next moment he was being taken down by a series of rapid jabs. Chi blockers. He collapsed onto his back, heart thudding like a frantic drum. He couldn't move, couldn't resist. Then the pointed tip of a jian sword came into view. He swallowed, gaze following the length of the double-edged blade and up to Chiyo's face.

"Well, well," she said coolly. "Looks like someone has been lying to us."

"Wait, I can ex—"

"Save it for your trial." Her eyes were as cold as the touch of death. "That's if you even get one."

A wild cliffhanger has appeared.

More seriously, I just want to touch on the whole Sokka, Suki, Mai thing in this chapter, or rather Suki's reaction. I do see her as being a girl who has a lot of respect for herself and also a lot of maturity. That's why I couldn't imagine her getting mad at Sokka or petty/jealous at Mai, etc. I think she would understand why things went down the way they did. It would upset her, sure, but I don't really feel her affections were engaged enough to warrant serious heartbreak and hurt. (And even if it did, she would still be pretty mature about the whole thing.) She likes Sokka and wanted to see where their relationship would take them, but at the end of the day there are other fish in the sea and I feel she would move on pretty quick from a guy who didn't like her back the way she wanted. Plus, she actually does like and respect Mai.