Writer's Note: This fic is set shortly after "Alone" in this series. It focuses more on Suki and Sokka than it does Mai and Zuko, but it happens in the same universe that I've set up for this collection of stories. As such, I thought it would belong here, despite not being solely about Mai and Zuko.

"Wow..." Suki's eyes were huge on her face as Sokka led her into the Northern Air Temple's main landing port. Scattered throughout the skies were dozens of gliders that skirted through the sky with next no to effort. Suki was instantly delighted by this sight, and couldn't tear her gaze away from it until Sokka poked her cheek. She made a face, but he smiled, so she let him get away with it.

Sokka then threw his arm up and waved at one glider, and Suki followed his gaze to what looked like Teo with wings. She had heard rumours, but couldn't help but be surprised by the sight. They really are kind of like airbenders, she mused.

Teo veered over and skidded onto the runway, using both inertia and skill in order to skid himself over to the two of them. As he slid, the wings of his glider folded up into his chair. Suki stepped back a bit in surprise, but Sokka stood calmly with a grin.

"Oh, wow," Teo said as a greeting, his eyes wide and his smile wider. "Wow, look at you, Suki, you look amazing like that!"

Suki smiled; this was the first time Teo had really gotten a good look at her Fire Nation Royal Guard uniform before. "Thanks," she replied.

"You took too long to come here," he said as they started to walk. "I know it's something of a trek to get here, but it's really worth it."

Suki felt herself blushing at this slight reprimand, but Sokka merely laughed. "We've sort of been a little busy, Teo, don't you think?"

Teo went pink. "Yes, I know," he agreed. "But, I dunno. It's lonely sometimes."

Suki resisted the urge to ruffle his hair; she had a soft spot for younger sibling-type people.

"And Dad's been really excited about this new machine," he went on. "He's been dying for you to get here, Sokka, so that he can show you and get an opinion."

Sokka grinned, thrilled and flattered that his opinion meant so much. "And I'll be happy to give it."

Suki blinked. "But why did he want to meet me?" she wondered.

Teo blinked back, clearly as bemused as she. "He didn't give me the details, but he said something about fans and knives."

Suki wondered why she felt a sense of foreboding at that.

The office was cluttered with books and gadgets, a myriad of clutter scented with oil and dust. Suki found herself not repelled by it, but merely curious - as if it were a puzzle she had to solve, but found she lacked the ample tools in order to do so. She recognised some of the things littered about, but only because Sokka had replicas of the same things hidden in corners and crannies of both his room in the South Pole and her own room in the Fire Nation.

Suki wasn't adverse to tools. In fact, she rather loved good battle tools that advanced the ease of fighting. In her travels around the Earth Kingdom, she discovered that many armouries were rich with the kind of weapons that the Mechanist probably invented, including her own beloved wrist-shields. Coming to the source was something of an interest, so she was glad for the invite.

She was pondering these things when the Mechanist suddenly appeared from underneath the floorboards, covered in soot and smelling of charred hair and cloth. Suki stared, surprised, but Sokka had his arms thrown out and was shouting out a happy greeting before she could ask any questions.

"Sokka! You two are early!" the Mechanist declared as his own greeting.

"Actually, Dad..." Teo pointed over to a thickly layered candle. Once he did, something sparked, and it began to make snapping noises. Suki was instantly charmed by this.

"Ah," the Mechanist eyed the candle suspiciously, as if it had duped him somehow. "Then I suppose you're right on time." He turned back to them and glanced right at Suki with a somewhat lopsided gaze. "And hello! Nice to meet you at last, Kyoshi Warrior Suki!" He then corrected himself. "Ah, Royal Guard Suki." And here he bowed.

Suki smiled, clasped her hands together, in Fire Nation style, and bowed back. "Thank you," she said, meaning it. "I'm sorry it took me so long to arrive."

"Ah, details," the Mechanist replied with a wave of his hand. "You're here now and that is that. I'm just glad Firelord Zuko decided to give you a break."

Suki smirked, giving Sokka a sidelong look. Sokka scratched the back of his head and looked away. It had taken a lot of harassing letters from Sokka to get Zuko to loosen his grips on Suki for a few days. Even though Mai still had a few weeks to give birth and a major assassination group was apprehended, Zuko's paranoia and fear made him depend on Suki more. It was only when Aang and Katara - with little Tyana in tow - came by to "check up on Mai before the birth" that Zuko finally gave in.

"In...any case," Suki said with a weak smile. "I'd love to see what you have. Teo said something about fans?"

"Yes, yes!" the Mechanist agreed. He went to his desk and dug around behind it, where countless stacks of boxes and papers held up only by the wall behind them. He rummaged around for a while before picking out a long box that was tied with some kind of string (Sokka told her later that it was actually a braid of the Mechanist's hair, which resulted in about ten minutes of hysterical laughing). "Follow me into the courtyard. I need the space," the Mechanist said with a smile.

As they walked back, Sokka sidled up to the Mechanist and started chatting about various improvements made on a few gadgets he had, himself. Suki had to roll her eyes at that, since most of those "improvements" had cost her several rugs in her room and, in one case, one of her make-up kits.

Suki leaned over to Teo. "This doesn't have any kind of...explosive property to it by any chance, does it?"

Teo took the question seriously, even though she was partially joking. "No, I don't think so," he replied, a finger to his lips. "I didn't hear anything blow up when he said he was working on it."

That sense of foreboding increased.

Back outside on the courtyard, Teo reached over to the side of his chair and flicked a button, the wings of his glider swooshed out again. The Mechanist smiled and watched as his son threw himself in a furious speed and then launched himself up into the sky.

"Wow," Sokka was impressed. "His speed's increased. He never used to be able to get that fast without help."

The Mechanist chuckled, pride visible on his face. "His legs may be weak, but his arms aren't. Ever since he turned sixteen, he's been focused on getting his upper body strength up. And as you can see, it's worked wonders."

"I'll say," Suki shielded her eyes against the sun, barely able to see Teo now.

The three watched Teo fly around in the sky for a while, taken by how easy it was for him to glide through the currents. After a moment, the Mechanist turned back to Suki and Sokka and held out the box with a smile. "For you, my dear," he said to Suki.

Suki couldn't help but exchange a glance with Sokka. "So...what is it?" Sokka asked for her, guessing - correctly - that she was too shy to ask herself.

"You'll have to see for yourself," was the happy reply.

Gingerly, Suki reached forward and took hold of the package. It was somewhat heavy, but not enough to be cumbersome. The weight suggested something metallic, since the package itself was relatively small. With an inward shrug, Suki untied it and pulled the lid from the package.

Inside was what looked like a larger-than-usual folded fan made of shining gold and patterns of dark red, much like her new uniform. With some trepidation, She pulled it out, holding the box out to Sokka, who took it. She held it between both hands, weighing it a little and judging how heavy it actually was. It wasn't too bad - no worse than holding two of her own fans in the same hand. She probably could work well with it.

"It's beautiful," she said honestly, unable to keep the smile from her face. "Thank you."

"You haven't even seen the best part!" the Mechanist spluttered, sounding affronted by the very idea of it.

"Huh?" Suki looked up.

"Open the fan."

With a practised hand, Suki did so, the sound the fan making as it opened deeper and fuller-bodied than that of her own fans. She blinked, surprised by the sound; it was unusual, for any fan. Tentatively, she tightened her hand around the base of the fan, at the handle along the edge, and felt that it was oddly thick.

The Mechanist's hands were clasped before him, his face alight with childlike anticipation. "I think you already know!" he declared happily.

Suki was beyond bemused, now, but she followed her instincts and, with her other hand, grabbed hold of the base of the fan, feeling around with her fingers. They fell on something like a knot, and something clicked, then loosened. With raised eyebrows, she tugged.

Out came a small and extremely sharp dagger, about half the size of Suki's forearm. Its handle was the same shining gold with the red pattern, and the blade was a glittering and polished hue of the finest silver.

Instantly, Suki was in love.

"Wooo," Sokka leaned in close, eyeing the piece with a mix of surprise and envy. "That is sweet!"

"Indeed," the Mechanist grinned, his hands now folded behind his back. "And it's yours, Suki."

Her head shot up. "I...can have this? I was just going to ask..."

He laughed. "Of course you can! It was made for you!"

Suki felt her face burn, a smile spreading on her lips before she could control it. For the first time, she understood why Sokka was so smitten by gadgets and tools.