Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and am making no money from this story.

The Start of Something Magical

"Hi Mai!" Ty Lee ran over to the goth girl and gave her a quick hug. "I'll be right with you in a sec. I just need to get my stuff." Mai had been picking her up from cheerleading practice ever since Azula ditched them for her latest conquest. She sent up a quick prayer for the shy boy. Azula is going to eat him alive…

Walking back towards the gym she noticed the football team was coming in from practice too. Some of them were already stripping off their jerseys and she was treated to several very nice and muscley bodies walking by. She knew most of them and they threw comments at her as she went towards the girl's locker room.

"Hey Ty!"

"You coming to the party Friday?"

"Hey baby, why don't you practice some of those splits on my face?"

The last came from a big freshman that had been hitting on her for a while. She was about to turn around and let him have it when she heard the meaty smack of flesh striking flesh and the loud clatter of a body slamming into a locker. Spinning on her heels, her eyes widened when she saw the captain of the football team grab the unfortunate boy's shirt and draw his fist back a second time.

"Sokka, stop!!" When he turned his head at her voice, the other boy took the opportunity to throw a punch to Sokka's midsection. What happened after that was chaos. Both boys wrestling and wildly flinging punches. The other boys all gathered around shouting encouragement. She wasn't sure whether she should run for help or try to stop them herself. Before she could do anything more than stand there wavering, the shrill sound of a whistle being blown signaled an end to the brawl. Coach Bould, or The Boulder as they called him behind his back, reached into the fray and grabbed both boys by their collars, hauling them up and hurling them against the lockers.

"What the H. E. double hockey sticks is Coach Bould seeing here? In my office! Now! They rest of you, to the showers! What is this wrestlemania?! Get moving! Coach Bould is pissed!" The coach had the odd habit of speaking about himself in the third person. A throwback from his professional wrestling days she assumed. The remaining players scattered, not willing to risk ending up on the wrong side of the blustery Phys Ed teacher.

She sighed as both boys reluctantly followed the huge man into his office where an ugly amount of loud shouting had already begun. Oh, Sokka…

She barely caught the, oh so brief, wink the tall pony-tailed boy sent her before he departed. A tiny smile curved her lips. Tonight, huh? Ok, I'm game.

It started innocently enough. It was the beginning of the school year and she was in the town library, supposedly doing research for a history paper but really writing a fluffy piece of Blue Spirit fanfiction, when she heard some faint cursing coming from the upper stacks. She looked around and saw that she was relatively alone save for a painfully slender girl manning the desk at the far end of the hall. The girl obviously hadn't heard anything as she wasn't looking around but merely kept her head buried in the romance novel she was reading. Ooooh, I have that book!

Ty Lee began to reminisce about hours lost with a patch-wearing pirate who had pretty, pretty hair and a penchant for capturing innocent maidens… I wish someone would capture me… That's it! My next fic will definitely have the Blue Spirit capturing the Water Witch… I don't think anyone's done that before… A dull thud and a yelp from above cut into her salacious plotting.

Curiosity finally getting the best of her, she closed her laptop and decided to investigate.

The back stairs to the upper stacks were dark but she walked up anyway. It was dim and dusty on the second floor of the library. How are people supposed to find anything? But she guessed that they didn't get too many takers for the books stored there. Obscure and relatively unpopular research material filled the long row of bookcases. She followed the sound of what now seemed to be frustrated grunting? Oh god, please don't let some nut be up here doing something nasty… She looked over the railing to the floor below and saw that the librarian was gone. Great. Maybe this is bad idea.

"Oh, come on!"

That voice sounds familiar… Peeking around the corner of the last bookcase she was treated to the incongruous image of Sokka Hakoda half climbing the shelves, his arm fruitlessly straining to reach the top shelf. Several loose books littered the floor around him.

"You know they have ladders for that."

He turned and immediately lost his balance, twisting and landing on the floor in a loud clamor of books and cursing.

"HEY!! Don't sneak up on a guy like that! I could have hurt you!"

She giggled. "Really? Using what? Book-Fu? Looks like you need a few more lessons."

Ignoring her comment he glared, but the glowing pink tips of his ears marred the fearsome frown. "For your information, the ladder is broken."

As he got to his feet, injured pride evident in his every move, she noticed that the sliding ladder for this shelf was indeed broken, a faded "Do not use" sign hanging lopsidedly from a split rung.

"Huh. You're right. It is broken."

"Of course, I'm right! I just told you that!" He squawked indignantly.

She slipped past him to examine it closer. "You should relax, Sokka. Your aura is getting so gray…"

His mouth gaped open. "What the? Aura? Wait, do I know you?"

Dropping the sign and leaning over to pick up a book by her foot she asked curiously, "You don't remember me? We all used to hang out together." She felt a tiny bit hurt because she remembered him, oh yes she did… How could I forget my first crush?

Comprehension dawned on his face and he smirked. "Oh yeah, you're Zuko's sister's friend. Tyra, right?"

She frowned. "It's Ty Lee."

She was stunned by the incredibly handsome smile that suddenly lit his face, making those beautiful blue eyes sparkle. "I know, I was just messing with you. How have you been?"

After the fire, the group had never been the same. Zuko was gone and Azula turned into this diamond hard imitation of herself, her mischievousness morphing into outright cruelty. Ty Lee and Mai stuck with her though, but the others drifted away until the only time they saw each other was in passing at school… They ran in different circles and rarely interacted.

"I've been all right. How is your sister?" She had always liked his sister. She played the best pranks.

Sighing he turned back to the bookcase. "She is the reason I'm here. She has a cold. But insists that she has to finish her homework anyway." He kicked the bookcase.

"Stupid Katara and her dumb paper 'due tomorrow'". He raised his voice in mocking imitation. "'I need it Sokka, please get it for me?' She would need that book of all books." He gestured to the top shelf. She didn't know exactly where he was looking but she could tell it was out of reach.

Giggling she placed a hand on his arm, his surprisingly hard arm… And had to shake her head to clear it of the instant daydream of being swept into a passionate kiss by said arm.

Unexpectedly, he looked down at her. When did he get so tall? "Hey, maybe you can help me!"

"How? I can't reach up there."

The devious smirk on his face made her slightly nervous. She recalled seeing it right before something awful would happen when they were children.

"You can if I lift you."

"Lift me?"

"Oh, come on! Don't act like that would scare you. I know I saw you at cheerleader tryouts last week. Remember? 'Gooo Avatars!' What do you say?"

In a flash of inspiration that would make the most imaginative author proud, she decided to live out a secret fantasy…

Cocking her head to the side and twirling her braid she said slyly, "What's in it for me?"

He looked dumbfounded for a second. "Uh, what do you want?"

What could I possibly want from the hottest guy I've seen in ages?

Dropping her voice to the seductive pitch she practiced in her room late at night, she said, "A kiss. A good one."

A sexy smirk curved his lips and he stepped closer to her. "A good one, huh?"

The air stilled. It was so silent she swore she could hear dust motes hitting the ground. She could barely breathe.

Her skin tingled when he cupped her chin. "I think I can mange that…"

She wasn't sure what she expected. The other boys she had kissed, and there were quite a few, maybe not a cute as Sokka, but a few, had been either too enthusiastic, slavering her face and chin with sloppy wetness or too rough, bruising her mouth and not in the good way. She always wanted to know what kissing Sokka Hakoda would be like and she could scarcely believe she was about to find out.

She wasn't prepared for the gentle brushing of his mouth on hers, for the way he teased her lips, parting them for his tongue to trace the inner curve of her lower lip. Her eyes fluttered shut and she put her arms around his neck pressing herself against his ooh baby... hard body. He moaned softly and deepened the kiss, crushing her to him in a rush of passion that sent waves of shivery pleasure through her body. This was better than any romance novel or fanfiction lemon ever could be… she never wanted him to stop kissing her…

Eventually the librarian had to kick them out, blushing wildly at their state of undress. Katara never got her book and Sokka had to put up with finding slimy things in his bed for a week but it was a glorious beginning.

From then on they would meet secretly to be together, each time picking a different place, trying to surprise each other with their inventiveness. Reveling in the scandalous excitement of the clandestine affair. A wink or a, not so casual, glance was the signal that tonight was the night. This time it was his turn to choose. A hot thrill went through her as she wondered what he had planned...

But she wasn't his girlfriend. He already had two of those who fought over him like crazed dogs in heat. Suki, who wore entirely too much make-up and Yue, who bleached her hair so much it was practically white.

Fight all you want girls… She thought later as she plunged her fingers into his loosened hair and listened to him pant in her ear.

I am perfectly happy to have this and as long as he keeps fulfilling my fantasies I always will be… hrmmm…

"Sokka, you ever hear of a capture fic?"

Fin