Title: Best Face
Rating: K+
Characters/Pairings: Sokka/Suki
Summary: Neither likes to talk about their experiences during the war much...
A/N: Written for 31days, theme "your kohled eyes speak a mysterious language."

Neither one likes to talk about their experiences during the war much – maybe it's because they saw so much or because they lost so much or because they grew up so fast, but all they know is that it seems that they relate to each other a little too well and there's more comfort in silence than in sharing. Neither asks too many questions, especially when it seems like the answers will draw them back to that spring and summer spent fighting against the Fire Nation.

Suki doesn't like to take her makeup off. It's the first thing she puts on in the morning and the last thing she takes off before going to bed at night, and the only time Sokka has ever seen her without it in daylight is when he saw her at the port that led to Ba Sing Se, when she was in another uniform and wasn't allowed to wear her own makeup.

Sokka wants to ask why, but he's not sure if it's something that started before the war or because of it, and neither one wants to touch that subject, so he doesn't ask and instead learns how to apply her makeup himself.

The first time he does it he doesn't ask permission, simply takes the little jar of white paint out of her hand and dips his fingers and completes the job himself, running the black and red around her eyes like he's been doing it his whole life. When he finished she looked at him solemnly through the face that has become more familiar to her than the one she was born with and then her arms were around his neck and her lips were on his and her makeup ended up smeared all over the place and they had to start the whole cycle over, but that was okay because they reached an understanding, and that was worth Suki being late for training.

Suki doesn't like to take her makeup off, and Sokka likes to put it on for her. Sokka wants to ask why she prefers the white and red to her own flesh and Suki wants to ask why Sokka cares so much about her makeup to begin with, but neither one ever does. They don't ask each other too many questions of each other, not when it seems the answer will return them to the war effort, especially when there's more comfort to be found in sharing silently instead of sharing out loud.

Originally posted 08/19/2007