Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson.
Author's Note: Those of you who follow my writing will know that I've already written a Ron/Hermione story with this song. However, it works for multiple things. This one is a little more hopeful and less ironic than that one. This takes place during Serpent's Pass, the night following that evening when Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Katara all had moments that didn't work out very well.
Will I Ever Tell You?
Dream
of now, dream of then,
Dream of a love song
That might have
been.
Sokka found himself on a pale cliff with no recollection of how he got there. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep in Serpent's Pass. He looked up to see the crescent moon, just the way it had looked earlier in the evening. He blinked in amazement. The moon seemed to be getting closer, but that didn't make any sense.
Eventually, he saw the glowing figure of a girl overlaying the moon's shape, and he knew who it was.
"Princess Yue?" he asked, getting to his feet.
"Yes, Sokka. I told you I would always be with you." Yue hovered over the cliff edge.
"Am I dead?" Sokka wondered. After the day he'd just had, anything might be possible.
"No," Yue assured him.
"Is this the spirit world?"
"You've been here before." It was not a question.
"Yeah, Hei-Bai brought me there for a day, but I don't remember anything about it."
Do I love you? Oh yes, I love
you,
And I'll bravely tell you,
But only when we dream again.
"The answer to your question is both yes and no," Yue told him mysteriously. "When mortals sleep, it is sometimes possible for the spirit and human worlds to overlap in dreams. This is mostly done with the Avatar, but you have been close to him long enough that I can visit you."
"Yue, I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you."
"That's why I'm here, Sokka. You must stop blaming yourself. I knew what I was doing." Yue reached out a hand to stroke his cheek. It felt like the flutter of an eyelash, reminding Sokka that she was not completely there.
"I love you," Sokka whispered. The words came out so easily here, the words that he couldn't say before because of the concerns of honor, among other things. Yue smiled sadly.
"I know," she said softly. He hadn't expected her to say that she loved him back, and she didn't.
Sweet and low,
sweet and low.
How sweet that memory,
How long ago.
"I miss you," Sokka added.
"I miss you, too, Sokka. I enjoyed the time we spent together." Yue's gaze shifted, and she seemed to look past him. "We are quite literally in different worlds now, though. It isn't right for you to stay attached to me."
"How am I supposed to forget?"
"You aren't. No one can ask that. But there is another who needs you now." At this, Yue pointed, and Sokka followed her gaze. He realized that he could see the ledge, far below, where he and the others had lain down to sleep. As he watched, they moved magically closer so that he could make out each individual, including his own body, which was a little weird.
"Katara? Aang?" Sokka guessed. He looked carefully at each of them. Aang's slumbering face was more relaxed than Sokka had seen it in weeks, but Katara looked troubled even in her sleep. Somehow, in this dream, he could see everything more clearly than he did when he was awake. "Are they going to be okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Aang's been…different lately. Distant and stuff. I can tell it's really bothering Katara."
"I cannot see the future," Yue replied. "And though they do need you, I was speaking of someone else."
"Suki?" he realized. "Come on, she doesn't need me. She's independent."
"Everyone needs someone," Yue insisted. "Don't let me stand in your way. I never meant for you to turn your back on life. It goes on, and so do you." Sokka winced a little, remembering how he had been unable to kiss Suki that evening because he felt, in some undefined way, that he would be unfaithful to Yue. He turned back to Yue, but she was already receding into the distance, merging with the moon.
Forever, oh yes,
forever.
Will I ever tell you?
Ah, no.
Sokka woke up on his sleeping mat. He sat up quietly to look around him. He rested his eyes on Suki, sleeping across the way. He felt lighter somehow than he had in a long time. He would definitely give some thought to what Yue had said. He did like Suki, and maybe tomorrow, they could try to start over again. Sokka didn't think he'd ever be able to explain to Suki why he'd acted the way he did, and maybe that was the way it should be. He looked back up at the crescent moon, now beginning to sink toward the horizon.
"Thank you, Yue," he said under his breath, almost like a prayer, before drifting back to sleep again.
--
Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Avatarwolf, Strix Moonwing, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, and honorary member SnakeEyes16.
Author's Note: This came about as an answer to what changed Sokka's mind about Suki. Yeah, it could just have been the daylight, but it seemed a little more profound than that.
Review responses:
frozenheat: Could we shake her or something? No, actually, I think in the series she knows what's going on now. I'd really like to hear her say it, though.
TTAvatarfan: Thanks. This song is actually even shorter. More room for my creativity, though, right?
SnakeEyes16: Yes, I tend to believe in brevity myself. And this song is even shorter, so it's not really a problem for me. In fact, it's almost more difficult to write songfics based on extensive lyrics because so much of the story is already being told that there's less opportunity to insert your own ideas.
Kumori Doragon: No, you made sense, and I appreciate it. I didn't think you were harsh, but I merely contest that I was writing anything out of character or canon. Not that I'm completely innocent of that kind of thing, but I usually admit it at the time of posting.
Kimbalynn616: Thanks for the suggestion, but I already had this one in the works. I might do some songs twice, though, so I'll keep the Maiko idea on simmer for a while.
Snows Of Yester-Year: Well, that's good, though I'm sorry you have to deal with morons.
