Fun fact: Lei is the Chinese word for "thunder."

It was another day of dueling for a father and his son at the dojo. Dueling was a special way for them to connect. With their separate movements and their precision in fighting styles, both Sokka and Lei had a lot to learn from each other, as well as a lot to teach.

To Sokka, dueling with his son quickly became one of his favorite activities. Moreover, it was obvious that Lei enjoyed it as well.

However, for Lei, today was different.

Fully equipped in their protective gear and in the middle of a duel, Sokka encouraged his son, "Good job son," he told him as he swung his sword sideways while Lei blocked the attack with his katana, "Your defense is always intact."

"Of course," Lei spoke through his teeth as he continued countering his father's movements roughly.

Sokka was quite impressed. Today, Lei seems to be filled with energy, or was rather more focused than usual. "Alright, now let's you if you can handle this!"

His father sent out multiple strikes, seeing that Lei was determined to seek a challenge in today's dueling session.

Much to his surprise, Lei either dodged his movements swiftly or countered his attacks acutely.

"Not that impressive," Lei told his father.

Sokka was somewhat surprised. Was that an insult? And how come Lei doesn't seem to be in his usual, enjoyable personality?

"Oh... okay," Sokka said as he continued dueling with his son.

As they continued swinging and striking, Lei decided to speak, "You know, I've been training my whole life. As you can see, I'm way beyond any simplistic training."

"That's great son. I can see that!"

"Yep. I learned all by myself. I didn't need a father to teach me."

Sokka froze in the middle of the duel, only to be knocked over from his son's surprise blow.

"Oops, sorry dad," Lei spoke unapologetically as he lent a hand to his father.

Stunned, Sokka didn't know what was going on. It seems that he's being given an attitude. Weird, this never happened before. He took his son's hand and stood back up. "Oh... yeah... that's okay."

For the next few minutes, they continued their dueling session without a word. Sokka decided not to say a word, until Lei spoke up some more.

"Tell me dad, any special ladies in your life after you and mom split?"

His tone seemed pretty malicious, and his question took Sokka by surprise, right in the middle of a duel.

"Not really... no," He answered as he countered his son's blows.

"Oh yeah, maybe just some one night stands or hookups with some other pointless adult women, right Mr. Republic City's finest?"

Sokka wanted to stop the duel, but he couldn't with Lei's katana lunging back and forth at him. "Where the hell did that comment come from?"

"Come on dad! Just playing with ya!" He said as he continued swinging at his father even more, though it was evident in his tone that he wasn't joking around.

As he continued blocking his attacks, he replied nonchalantly, "Funny Lei, very funny."

"I mean, an adult man who cares about nothing but seeking women should be looked down upon right? Especially if he is father, uncle, or even a friend. I see these type of men everywhere in Republic City."

As they continued their duel, Sokka felt his son's word hit him. For some reason, it seems that these words are meant to be directed at him. But what would Lei know?

"I guess some men are just trying to find something to fill a void in their life," Sokka spoke casually, still focused on his fighting skills in this duel.

"HA! Those men are choosing to go down the wrong path! Seriously, if a man were trying to fill a void in his life, then going after women one by one like a shopping list is a stupid path."

"Lei, you can't just judge people like that," his father spoke to him. Clearly, Sokka was thinking of himself as he grew defensive. Lei's words are reminding him of his past actions. "Yes, it may seem like a bad path, but some guys weren't in the right state of mind. Sometimes they can just be lonely."

"Right, so screwing around with sluts is a good way to handle things."

"I'm not saying that Lei," Sokka addresses as he and his son continued blocking and countering each other's attacks, "I'm just saying that you shouldn't judge right off the bat. You never know, they can be lonely, or even hurt. They just try to find something to distract themselves from their sadness. That's why they don't think about their actions."

"Oh I totally believe you on the 'not thinking about their actions' part," Lei spoke up as he swung at his father even faster, "You know what I hate the most though? The type of men who actually have the audacity to date a married woman."

Sokka felt an immediate attack on the inside from Lei's words, as well as the multiple strikes from his katana. It seems that he's about to lose balance.

"I mean come on!" Lei began to shout as he continued swinging, "Out of all, those type of men are the worst! They ruin a marriage! They ruin a family!"

"Still, you don't know what's going in their minds Lei," Sokka spoke through his teeth.

"And you're gonna defend those type of men?!" Lei replied angrily. "They're worthless. They're scums! They're fucking assholes! If I was a son of one of those men, I would reject my father! Nothing worse than having a father who takes advantage of the people around him!"

Lei screamed loudly while his attacks on Sokka became harder on harder. Sokka himself had a hard time blocking, due to his son's swift movements and anger-driven statements. His words, however, were starting to make him mad.

"These type of men are not meant to be fathers," Lei added as he continued striking Sokka, "They're not meant to be uncles. They're not meant to be friends. They're not meant to be husbands. A man like that is not meant to be with my mom, or be my father. My mom and I would deserve much better than that."

Sokka couldn't take it. Rage filled his head, and out of nowhere...

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!" Sokka screamed as he forcefully swung his sword at Lei's katana, knocking it out of his hands. Right then, another swung sliced right across Lei's arm, through the armor and cutting his skin.

Lei grabbed his arm and screamed, taking a few steps back and tripped.

Sokka, alerted by his son's shout of pain and regretting letting his emotions get in the way, immediately went to Lei and crouched down. He took his son's arm and saw some blood staining the armor. The fact that he did this to his son made him want to cry.

"Lei! I am so, so sorr-"

"SHUT UP!" Before he knew it, Lei's fist punched him straight across his face.

Sokka fell backwards, grabbing the side of his jaw. He noticed that he can taste blood in the inside of his mouth, and he looked at his son in shock.

Lei immediately got up, took off his armor, walked straight out of the dojo, and slammed the door.

As for Sokka, all he did was lay on the mat with tears coming out of his eyes and his hand still on his jaw.

For Suki, it felt great to finally be able to reconnect with Zuko and Mai. It seems that this whole vacation, aside from Sokka and Lei, she mostly interacted with Aang and Katara, along with Toph every now and then. It was wonderful to be able to hang out with her friends from the Fire Nation, not to mention they are the Fire Lord and the Fire Lady.

"The lunch here is amazing," Suki told the couple after finishing her meal, "No wonder why Sokka and Lei love it here so much."

Zuko chuckled, remembering how much his best friend and his son love meat. "Yep. Han's Grille is famous for all kinds of meats."

"Speaking of which," Mai added, "I wonder what those two are up to right now?"

"They're having another sword match at Sokka's dojo," Suki answered, "They love it!"

"Sokka told me how much he loved dueling with his son," Zuko said, "They're both a natural when it comes to sword fighting."

"Sounds like they truly are father and son alright," Mai commented.

Seeing her friends speaking kindly of Sokka and Lei always put a smile on her face. It reminded her that for years, she wanted her son to have the perfect father figure. Now, he does, and it's her old love, his biological father. Moreover, now that Sokka and Lei are happy, everyone is happy.

"That reminds me Suki," Mai spoke, "What made you chose the name 'Lei'?"

Zuko thought that was a good question. "Yeah, I want to know about that too."

Suki smiled. "Funny you guys asked. Sokka asked me awhile ago, and Aang and Katara just asked me last week. They all thought I made a unique choice when giving my son his name."

"Tell us!" Mai exclaimed.

Suki would love to tell anyone who asked. "Lei means 'thunder.' On the day I gave birth to Lei, there was a thunderstorm. The weather was awful. Lightning, intense rain, high winds, everything. It was literally a hurricane."

Mai was intrigued, while Zuko lifted an eyebrow. Basically, Lei's name matched the horrible weather on the day of his birth. In their minds, they hoped that wasn't the reason why she chose the name for her son. They both know she's more deep than that.

"It was a stressful time," Suki continued, "I was single, and I was about to have a child. The weather perfectly matched my mood. When I gave birth, I can tell the sounds of my screams were blocked out by the sounds of thunder outside and the loud raindrops on the roof. Yet, when I saw my son for the first time, nothing else mattered. I didn't hear the storm, and I didn't feel any pain anymore. It was just me and my beautiful boy. I kept him in my arms the whole time. He cried loudly, but afterwards, he would smile a lot. In a way, he told me to be strong. It was going to be me and him for the rest our lives."

Suki paused and reminisced. Her eyes became wet when she thought back to the best day of her life. "There were loud bangs of thunder that day. It startled me. Yet for some reason, my son wasn't scared at all. He just looked at me and continued smiling and cooing. He was strong, and his voice was so loud. The thunderstorm didn't faze him at all. He was strong and loud, just like thunder itself. He wasn't afraid, and from then on, I had hope in my life. I wasn't afraid of the future anymore. All I know is that it was going to be me and my little bolt of lightning that will keep me charged for the days to come."

Suki giggled as a teardrop fell out her eye. "That is why I named him Lei."

Zuko smiled and gave her his own round of applause, while Mai truly felt her strong words.

Though Mai's not exactly the type to show feelings, she had to for this, "That was so beautiful Suki. The name truly is very fitting."

"Thank you Mai."

Zuko lifted his glass of wine, "To us, and our amazing children."

Suki and Mai lifted their glasses of wine in response.

With the sun setting and having just arrived at Air Temple Island, Sokka's walked up directly to his son's room in the male dormitory, refusing any help from the acolytes nearby.

What was that earlier today?

His cheek is sore, and it'll be hard to eat until the bruise heals. Though what pains him the most is being hurt by his son, and hurting his own son.

For the rest of the day, he's been thinking. Did he know about Hu Li?

Once he reached the front of his door, Sokka knocked.

"Come in."

He opened the door to find his son laying on his bed, reading a book. Another thing that caught his attention was his arm wrapped in bandages, which made Sokka's stomach drop.

"What?" Lei spoke, refusing to give any manners.

"We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Don't act like you forgot what happened earlier today."

"Oh I really wish I forgot what I heard about you, dad. I really wish I did."

"And what is it you heard Lei?!" Sokka' voice grew louder. "What exactly did you hear?!"

"Zhang came crying and yelling at Bumi and I last night!" He shouted back at his father. "Remember Ronin Zhang? His parents are constantly fighting and the family is breaking apart! You want to know why?! Take a look at that!"

He pointed to the ripped letter on the floor. Sokka crouched and placed the two halves of the letter together. Then, he remembered what letter it is. It is the one he wrote awhile ago.

"Zhang gave it to us last night. By the way, I lost a friend, and Bumi lost his best friend. Thanks a lot, dad."

Sokka closed his eyes, "Lei, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything dad!" He shouted back angrily. "You already fucked up everything. How about you just leave us all alone?!"

Sokka stood back up and diverted his eyes toward his son. "I know I made some mistakes, but I'm not going to stand here and let my son talk to me like that."

"And what are young going to do? Ground me for the first time? Punish me for bringing up the fact that you ruined a friend's family?"

"It's not something I'm proud of," Sokka spoke, his voice beginning to crack, "Please stop rubbing it in my face."

"I knew coming here to Republic City was a waste! Mom, Jia, they were all wrong! They told me to give you a chance, that I shouldn't be judging. Turns out they were wrong, and I was right!" Lei shouted as he sat up, "I never wanted to meet you in the first place. Heck, I was hoping mom's ex-boyfriend Koji would be the father figure in my life. I can tell you he was my first father, and he never did anything treacherous like you!" He pointed directly at his father.

Sokka felt a stab in between his chest. Never had he got on his son's bad side, and boy did it hurt. It hurt to see his son telling him he never wanted to meet him, and it hurt to hear that another man was doing a better job at being his father.

"Lei, please-"

"I really liked you Sokka! You truly were a father to me, I thought."

That was the first time he ever called his father by his first name intentionally, and it really hurts.

"I can't even look at you the same anymore."

Lei got out of his bed and prepared to walk out.

"STOP!"

His son turned to see his father looking back at him with angry, yet hurt eyes.

"Listen Lei, I messed up okay! I'm sorry, but you don't know what I've been through!"

Lei was unimpressed with his apology, nor his statement. "And that's suppose to make me think you're innocent?"

"I know what I did was wrong," Sokka continued, "I regret it! All the stuff you mentioned earlier at the dojo, I regret all of it!"

"Well the damage is done, and my opinion on you is set Sokka. There's nothing you can do about it now."

Sokka tried to ignore the hurtful words from his son as he continued, "You don't know how much I missed your mom okay? You don't know how much I constantly think about her. I loved your mom so much, and still do. She's constantly on my mind, and has been ever since we separated eighteen years ago."

"Then why didn't you go back to her when you had the chance?!" Lei shouted.

"Because I didn't want to hurt her again!" Sokka retaliated.

For half a minute, the room remained silent.

"Not again," Sokka added, "I tried to distract myself from her. As hard as it was, I tried to keep her off my mind. Yes, I dated different women to distract myself, but when I saw Hu Li, and how much she looked like your mother, I was tempted to do something I knew I'll regret it. And the thing that sickens me is that I knew how it was a horrible choice, but I let my temptation give in. I missed your mother, and Hu Li was a constant reminder of your mother. Then, I ended the relationship because I couldn't handle the guilt anymore, and trust me, this is a mistake that'll haunt me for the rest of my life "

Lei continued looking at his father, but not with sympathy. With disappointment.

"And you know what else?" Sokka spoke, "When I learned I had a son, I was even more hurt. You're mother didn't tell me about you, and I'm aware you didn't want to see me as you grew up. It hurt me so much, because I've always wanted a child. I've always wanted a son to raise on my own. You know how much it hurts to have lost that chance?"

Tears pricked behind Sokka's eyes as he let out his emotions. Lei's eyes were also getting wet, but he still had anger clogged in his head.

"But now, I finally got to meet my son. Even though I never got the chance to raise him, these past few months have been the best time of my life. The love of my life came back, and with her came the world's greatest son."

Lei looked up to his father.

"I don't want to lose him. I don't want to lose my son, nor the love my life. They both make me happy. If I lose the two of them, or even one of them, I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I need them."

Sokka walked closer to his son, and placed both his hands on his shoulder.

"Seventeen years. I had a son, and I wasn't in his life for seventeen years. I wasn't able to raise him, but I want to make up for that."

Sokka paused, looking directly at his son, "I don't want to miss any other days watching you grow up Lei. I already missed too much."

Lei felt a tear coming out of his eye, but he had to speak up. He wanted to say he needed his father in his life as well. He wanted to tell him...

But I can't.

"Sorry Sokka," he was able to choke out, "I can't look at you the same anymore."

Lei nudged Sokka's hands out of his shoulders and walked out of his room. This was the second time today Lei did this. For Sokka, all he could do was sit on the edge of his son's guest bed and let the tears come out from his eyes. This time, his pain was even worse than earlier at the dojo.

As for Lei, he found a quiet place on the island where he can let out his emotions as well.

I've been waiting to write this chapter! Sometimes I think... "I wonder what a bachelor man would react if they had a rebellious son who disapproved of his father's lifestyle." In this chapter, I was able to show that, kinda I guess. But yeah, I've always was interested in seeing a responsible young man bringing up the atrocious mistakes of his father, or rudely remarking on his father's past brash lifestyle. Then, I like to see the father showing emotion and regret over his past actions.

Confession #1: I will admit, even though I had a good time writing this chapter, I felt it didn't come out as good as I wanted it to be. I remember the first time I wanted to write this story. I was so anticipating the time when I'm finally able to write this chapter. However, given the way the story progressed, as I finished writing this chapter, I feel it wasn't as powerful as I wanted it to be.

Confession #2: I also feel this way because ever since Korra ended last month, and I'm constantly at other fandoms and reading other fanfictions, it seems my "fanboy" days with Avatar are over. Yes I was a complete fanboy when it came to Avatar and Korra and I was for the longest time, and I will always regard them as some of the best cartoons ever. But as of now, given that I'm primarily "fanboying" over the DC and Marvel Universe (as well as other stuff) and have been for a long time, my passion for Avatar isn't so strong anymore.

That's why I feel this story will probably wrap up faster than I thought. I'm sorry if any chapter(s) felt rushed or boring to you guys. I just want to focus on wrapping up the story faster, but still keeping the main idea of the story intact of course. (I shall not leave the story unfinished). But hey, anyone who's still reading, I would still LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear reviews. They would still motivate me, and maybe I might not wrap up the story too fast.