Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the song "Many A New Day" from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma.

Author's Note: This is about Suki's feelings about leaving Sokka and her warriors' reactions to her story. This song seemed to fit Suki, though it is fraught with irony because the song lyrics are the things she's trying to tell herself, while the text is what's actually happening. Then again, that's kind of the way the song is used in the musical, too. MormonMaiden requested something along these lines ages ago, so I've named the chapter for her.

It's true, wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas.

--The Ghost of Christmas Present, The Muppet Christmas Carol

The Tale of MormonMaiden

Why should a woman who is healthy and strong
Blubber like a baby if her man goes away?
Weepin' and a-wailin' how he's done her wrong?
That's one thing you'll never hear me say.

Suki had never felt so lonely in her life. As she made the trek alone that she had recently shared with a group of fellow travelers, she reflected on the boy – no, young man – who had just dropped into her life for the second time.

It was ludicrous for her to feel this way. She had only known Sokka for a few days back on Kyoshi Island. She had assumed that she would quickly forget about him. After all, there was nothing really remarkable about him, unless you counted the fact that he traveled with the Avatar.

If anything distinguished Sokka, it was that he was arrogant, chauvinistic, and sarcastic. And yet…he had humbled himself before Suki and the other warriors in a way that few men would have. His drive to better himself was more powerful than his pride, a trait that Suki had to admit she found admirable. Even his unique sense of humor had grown on her.

Never gonna think that the man I lose
Is the only man among men.
I'll snap my fingers to show I don't care;
I'll buy me a brand-new dress to wear.
I'll scrub my neck, and I'll brush my hair
And start all over again.

Life should have returned to normal on the island after that, Suki supposed, but it hadn't. The attack of the Fire Nation on their shores made the idea of neutrality seem less realistic. The soldiers had only been after the Avatar, but they had nearly destroyed her whole village. That experience had changed the outlook of many islanders, even if they seldom said so aloud.

Suki had become increasingly restless, and if her gaze frequently strayed to the skies in search of a flying bison, well, nobody mentioned it. Eventually, she convinced her warriors that they should go and help the Earth Kingdom somehow. The prospect of travel and adventure gave her something new to focus on, and she hoped that fresh experiences would take her mind off of the Water Tribe warrior who refused to leave her thoughts.

It worked, for a while. Then, they reached the outskirts of Ba Sing Se, and her new role as a guard provided Suki with long hours to think and watch the sky. She lost track as the weeks rolled out behind her.

Many a new face will please my eye;
Many a new love will find me.
Never have I once looked back to sigh
Over the romance behind me.
Many a new day will dawn before I do.

It had been such a surprise to see Sokka and the others getting tickets for the ferry. Suki was glad she had been able to travel with them, if only for a short time. She tried not to be sad about their parting again. His duty was to the Avatar, and hers was to her warriors. She needed to look forward now.

Finally, Suki reached the permanent encampment where her warriors awaited her. They all wanted to know how her trip with the Avatar was.

"And Sokka," more than one of them added, with significant looks and the occasional giggle. The warriors of Kyoshi were not, as a rule, inclined to such silliness as giggling, but they were still girls, and talk of boys could bring out the girlishness in them like nothing else. Suki smiled faintly as she considered how much to tell them. Part of her wanted to keep things private, but she quickly realized that she needed to talk about it, so she ended up spilling nearly everything, although she downplayed both the danger and the romance as much as she could.

Many a light lad may kiss and fly;
A kiss gone by is bygone.
Never have I asked an August sky,
"Where has last July gone?"

"He kissed you?" Miko asked eagerly. "How was it?"

"Are you going to see him again?" That was Toki. Suki answered the questions in order.

"Yes, he kissed me, it was very nice, and I don't know." Actually, "very nice" didn't begin to cover it, but that was one of those things that were really none of their business. In fact, the mere memory of those kisses made her tingle all the way down to her toes.

"You mean, you didn't, I don't know, make any plans or anything?" Kishi put in.

"We're in the middle of a war," Suki reminded her and the others. "His first priority is to help the Avatar. Everything else is secondary. Besides, it was just a kiss." If only she could convince herself of that.

Never have I wandered through the rye,
Wondering where has some guy gone.
Many a new day will dawn before I do.

Suki shooed the warriors out of her cabin a short time later, but Miko hung back.

"Just a kiss, huh?" she challenged Suki in a quiet voice.

"That's all it can be, for now," Suki answered with a sigh, letting her guard down a little. Miko was her closest friend.

"So you do hope for more, eventually?"

"I don't know," Suki shrugged this off. "If we both get through this thing alive, there'll be time to think about that. If it's meant to be, we'll find each other again."

"Since when do you believe in destiny?" Miko inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Since I met the Avatar."

"And his friends," Miko suggested, putting special emphasis on the last word. Suki sighed, silently hoping they were all still all right.

Never have I chased the honeybee,
Who carelessly cajoled me.
Somebody else just as sweet as he
Cheered me and consoled me.

"Anyway, you know me," Suki chose to ignore Miko's last remark. "I'm not one to dwell on the past. I might find somebody new tomorrow. There are plenty of men around here."

"Yeah, and a lot of them look at you, but I've never seen you look at any of them. Not once."

Suki grimaced. Miko always had been able to read her extremely well, maybe a little too well. Still, she didn't answer. What could she say? The accusation was true. Suki hadn't really been able to think of another man since she had met Sokka several months ago.

"Admit it," Miko pressed, although her tone was gentle. "You're sweet on that guy."

"If you don't mind, I'm tired," Suki responded pointedly. "I'd like to rest." Miko obeyed the implied request but gave her a searching look as she withdrew.

Never have I wept into my tea
Over the deal someone doled me.
Many a new day will dawn,
Many a red sun will set,
Many a blue moon will shine before I do.

Finally, Suki was alone again, and she collapsed onto her mattress. Maybe she shouldn't have gone with the Avatar. Kyoshi knew she hadn't been much help. The three benders had done most of the work, and Sokka had even had to save Suki from a rockslide, nearly getting himself crushed instead.

More than all that, though, was the fact that Suki had discovered what it was she was missing before she let it go. Before, her thoughts of Sokka had been mostly conjecture and fantasy. Now, she knew exactly what it was like to have the warmth and firmness of his body pressed against her and the feel of his mouth on hers…unbidden, the tears began to flow. Tomorrow, she would be strong. Tomorrow, she would begin again. But for tonight, she allowed herself a measure of private weakness and wept bitterly. She continued to cry long after she had forgotten the reason, at last falling into an exhausted sleep.

--

Author's note: Wow, I think this is the longest fic in this collection. I didn't get as many reviews for the last chapter, and I'm not sure whether people are busy for the holiday season, or a lot of my fans just don't like Maiko. Hey, it's me writing, give it a chance! I did get two votes to do more Maiko, and a couple of others that might have been implying that. Oh well, everybody loves Suki, right? Merry Christmas, everyone!

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, and honorary member SnakeEyes16 (hey, charleegirl, now we have a member closer to your age)

Thank you to Jesus.Lives, Tech-Man, and IGAF-kun, for reviewing Chapter 10.

Livexthexmagic: Thanks for the birthday wish, it's okay that it was late.

Piezo: Thank you; I'm glad you agreed with me. Personally, Azula telling Zuko she needed him would have been a red flag for me. Like she would ever actually admit that!

MormonMaiden: So, this one was for you. Thanks for explaining the George thing.

Dakyu: Well, I already wrote you a long note, but I didn't get what the whole spiritual crisis deal was about if it wasn't going to change Zuko's choices.shrugs back

Durins Bane: It's an old but true saying that you can't con a conner, and Azula is the best. Besides, Zuko has not shown himself to be particularly good at either lying or acting, so there is no way he could fool her. So I guess that leaves us with your first option – he's stupid.

SnakeEyes16: Yes, it's tricky but fun to write Maiko. It seems unlikely that the creators and writers would throw those hints in early in the season and then just leave it, so I'm guessing we'll see some development eventually.

GrEeN-eYes119: I thought your review was quite funny, but my husband thought you should re-write the bored part. Sorry this isn't a Tokka or Kataang, but this is the idea that came to me. I have a ton of Kataang stuff out there already, and I have trouble getting inspiration for Tokka, especially that would fit into the parameters of this little collection.

Magawa: I'm always glad to welcome a new fan, though I am particularly wondering why you chose to review Chapter 7. Was that as far as you'd read? I hope you're caught up now.