Chapter 18: Fears and Feelings

A soft knock on the door followed by a hushed, "Sokka?" brought the tribesman out of his slumber. He glanced over to Ummi and Yue and saw that they were still asleep. He slipped out of bed and quietly stepped out of the room, finding Piandao waiting for him. "Master? What's wrong? You didn't make dinner—"

Piandao didn't answer immediately, pulling Sokka to the side and making sure they were at an adequate distance away so they wouldn't be overheard, "Suki and Ty Lee were in the Upper Ring a few hours ago."

"What?"

"I saw them on my way here earlier. I didn't make dinner because I was following them to see what they were up to. And I didn't want to tell you this in front of Yue; I don't want her panicking."

"I thought they fled with the others," his eyes darkened, "How did they know we were coming here—?"

"They don't," the swordmaster assured. "They snuck back here to make inquiries about you and Yue at Ba Sing Se University. They have no idea that you're here right now. They're wrapped up in getting more information about Yue."

"The university can't give information about former students to strangers and third parties," Sokka insisted.

"Exactly. They were basically told to get lost."

"Several faculty members have been replaced or have moved on to other institutions," a supervisor explained. "Our dean had very recently passed away. We don't have anyone else among our current faculty and staff who has been here for that long. There's no way for us to know if those two students were actually our students. They might have been, or they might not."

"Can we check your student archives then? For more information?" Suki asked.

"I'm sorry, but the archives are not available for access by just anyone. Even we can't just look through the records of students without reason."

"You don't understand. We're Yue and Sokka's best friends," Ty Lee said. "We'd been looking everywhere for them! We did everything we can and asked everyone we could about them. We thought maybe you'd have their old addresses in your records—"

"Unless you have an order from the Ba Sing Se tribunal asking us for this kind of information, we cannot tell you anything, and we cannot let you peruse our documents. Even if they were students here at that time, it's all highly confidential information. We can't just give it to people willy-nilly."

"They're planning to break into the university tomorrow night," Piandao said. "They'll infiltrate the records room and try to find yours and Yue's files. And if they still can't get a hold of those records…" Appearing troubled, "In the alternative, they intend to impersonate Dai Li officers. They plan to use the case that Hahn filed against Yue in Ibben for kidnapping and arson, maybe create fake court documents to get her records, at least, for 'investigative purposes.'"

"So that's how they wanna play," Sokka muttered, wearing a death glower. He thought he was being clear enough by nearly wiping them all out in Ibbein. He thought the chaos from that night in Ibbein had been enough of a promise that he would show them hell if they came anywhere near him and his family. Clearly they hadn't learned their lesson.

Piandao could see horror and defensiveness churning on his student's face. "Don't worry, Sokka. I'm not letting them take anyone or anything away from you. I honestly wouldn't have told you this, either, but I wanted you to be careful."

"I know, and I'm glad you told me, Master." Taking a deep breath, "We need to get them off the streets for good."

"What are you suggesting, Sokka?"

"Nothing extreme, I'll give you that," came the reply. "I'm starting a new life with Yue and Ummi, and I'm not taking any risks, but I'm not gonna sit around and let the Hounds keep chasing us and trying to get me to go back." His fist clenching, "There really is no other way to stop them other than having them thrown in prison for good. Make sure they don't use their thug status to break free anytime soon. They should've already been arrested for everything they've done…!"

"I thought you said you weren't going to press any legal charges. At least, as long as that complaint filed against Yue is still active in Ibbein."

"And I stand by that," Sokka said. "But if there's a way we can have the Kyoshi Warriors arrested tonight without being involved directly, without dragging Yue or ourselves into this…and if there's a way we can get the Dai Li to hunt down Pakku and the others with zero involvement, I'd say we go for it."

"We're going to have to be very careful. And how can we possibly have them arrested? The Dai Li have a very weird relationship with Hounds. There's strong enough evidence for prosecution but a great fear of the Night Wolf."

"Not if the Night Wolf is no longer backing them up."

"Are you saying you want this split to go public?"

"If that's what it takes. I'm still not getting involved in this, but I know that the Dai Li piss their pants when they hear anything about the Night Wolf. I think it's time they realized the Night Wolf split from the Hounds for good. Of course, it's probably not useful to say the Night Wolf is alone. We need to keep their fear intact and capitalize on it as necessary. It's the only way we can get anything done around here."

"How are we going to get this message to them?"

"The rumors of the split are out there anyway. We just have to confirm them, likely by a tip. We can send an anonymous note to the Dai Li telling them that the Night Wolf had officially split up with the Hounds and now has a separate network. Order them to start prosecuting and completely dismantling the Hounds in Ba Sing Se and pursue them for past crimes without associating them with the Night Wolf anymore."

"I'm sure the Dai Li have adequate warrants to seize the Hounds, but if they attack the Hounds out of the blue for past crimes, the Hounds are going to be suspicious. They're going to be looking at you and Yue."

"It won't be out of the blue if there's a crime being triggered. You said it yourself that they're planning a break-in in the upper ring. That's a severe enough crime with Ba Sing Se's fucked-up sectors and obsessions with status." Turning to the swordmaster, "They didn't notice you were following them, did they?"

"No, they didn't notice me."

"They don't know that you or any of us would know their plan, right?"

"They would have no way of knowing we're in the upper ring for any reason."

"In our tip, we can inform them that a crime's gonna be committed at the university tonight. Because it's a tip involving the upper ring, they won't take any chances by ignoring it. They'll catch 'em in the act and throw 'em behind bars. I'm guessing they'll also raid the Women's Center for the other Kyoshi Warriors for conspiracy. Burglary and conspiracy will give 'em fifteen years in the least, but when it comes to crimes in the upper ring, it's much more serious. We're looking at probably twenty-five years. Pile on other crimes and it'll be more than that." Wearing a determined look, "This is the best way for us to be removed from it all."

"What about the other Hounds? We could disclose their previous hideouts in our street, but they won't be there any longer. They might have left our suburb by now, for all we know; they did go all the way to Ibbein for a hideout the other night."

"As long as the hunt for them begins in Gansu, they won't come near the city. Throwing the Kyoshi Warriors in jail will be enough of a warning."

"The Women's Center will take the biggest hit from this, though. Since it's run exclusively by the Kyoshi Warriors."

"Daily operations won't have to be disrupted," Sokka said. "I was named the interim in-charge in the event the Kyoshi Warriors are unavailable for any reason. Their rights will be terminated after the arrests, so I'll be doing the decision-making. Plus, there are enough funds to last the next six months or so. I'll think of something in the meantime, maybe get some funds ready and arrange for new management. It's for the best that reliable people be put in charge of the innocent instead of traitors."

"It does make sense…"

"Also, I'm thinking we should tell the Dai Li to dismiss the Snake-Blood complaints against Yue. Say it's the Night Wolf's order. Ibbein is just as much in our grip as Gansu is; I think this is very possible."

"For that to work, they need to know that our tip is very reliable," Piandao said. "I can approach the Dai Li office and give this information to them myself—"

"No, Master, I don't want you to risk anything, either. Why get our hands dirty?"

"This isn't about that. They need to see our tip as being reliable before they can take action. If I personally give them this information, they will know that I have actual knowledge of this crime taking place since I'd been working with them for so many years. They will also realize that I'm no longer a part of the Hounds."

Sokka nodded contemplatively, "Yes, you're right. We don't want them coming after you and arresting you for being an ex-Hound. They need to believe you're part of the Night Wolf's team. But the Hounds can never know that you're the one who gave the tip."

"They won't, don't worry," Piandao assured. "I managed the chaos from the other day, and I can manage this, too. I know some of the Dai Li really well. I trained over sixty percent of the members in the nonbender divisions. They have our backs. I'll tell them to keep my identity a secret; they're going to have to do that anyway given their own protocols. And once the Dai Li catch the Warriors in the act tomorrow night, it'll be more proof that we're telling the truth. They'll proceed with tracking down the rest of the Hounds and destroying those case files for good."

Sokka let out a staggered breath, staring out into the dark night, "The Night Wolf is no longer out there. He's put to death. But I do think it's useful to keep the public from figuring that out and use that fear to get things done." Shaking his head, "I'm not having anyone mess with our peace."

"Everyone was certain that you would end up dead. Literally the only thing that held him back was the fact that he'd be in prison away from his wife and daughter if he killed you."

Pakku, though confined to a bed and wrapped in casts and bandages, glared at a frustrated Bato, who kept pacing on the other side of the room, "Seriously, leave them be, Pakku. If Sokka wants to quit, then let him go. What will you achieve by holding onto him when he's so unwilling? He won't fight for the cause if he doesn't care—"

"He's lost under that woman's spell," Pakku snapped, holding back a hiss from the pain that shot through him from his exertion. "She's using her womanly charms to keep him away from us—"

"They're married, and they have a child. Sokka was the one who decided to leave all of this behind for his family, and I think nearly getting our necks snapped in half is enough of a statement—"

"She's not his wife! If anything, she's sleeping in his bed so he'll protect her! And just because she nurses that baby doesn't necessarily mean she's the mother," he huffed. "It sure as hell doesn't automatically mean he's the father."

"She can't nurse if she hadn't been pregnant," Ty Lee frowned.

"Who the hell knows if she's actually nursing or not?"

With a patient sigh, "If that baby wasn't Sokka's, why would he go on a rampage like that? If this was all a trick and she meant nothing to him — or even by your standards, if she really is…you know, being close to him for protection…why would he go crazy like that?"

"Clearly that woman and that child mean something to him, and clearly he means something to them," Suki said. "Yue was absolutely torn apart when I told her that he was badly hurt. Why would she react like that if she didn't know him—?"

"Because she was afraid for her life, not necessarily because she was afraid for his life!" Pakku screeched.

"I don't know. If she didn't care about him at all, she wouldn't have insisted on going to see him. She wouldn't have asked fifty times if he had Mr. Piandao or a healer with him—"

"If you think there's anything worthwhile between them, you're all fools! He never knew her! There's no proof! How the hell can you say that she's his wife?!"

Suki, retaining an annoyed glower at Pakku's insistence, relented and confessed, "Look, Ty Lee and I went to the upper ring earlier. We had plans to check things out at Ba Sing Se University and see if we could find any information—"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Pakku barked.

"Yue could've been a student at the university. She could've known Sokka that way."

"She went to the same university?" Bato asked, surprised.

"Pipsqueak and The Duke mentioned something to me a few days ago… something about how Sokka told them she was his university friend."

"Did the university authorities confirm this?"

"No, they neither confirmed nor denied anything. We need to check the records room somehow. Maybe infiltrate if necessary—"

"Wait a minute," Bato widened his eyes in realization, "Is Sokka the tribesboy she was apparently friends with during university…? The tribesboy that Hahn's been looking for…?"

"Possibly, but Suki and I can't confirm anything unless we have the information we need," Ty Lee said. "If Sokka and Yue really are that close, no matter what their relationship is…We need to focus on convincing him that we're not threats and that we won't let anything happen to Yue and Ummi. He never did want innocent people hurt. Regardless of whether they have a relationship or not, he would want them to be safe, and it's up to us to prove we won't hurt them."

"Ty Lee's right," Suki said. "We need to do what we can to apologize for our mistakes and slowly convince him to come back. He hates us because you were all making dumb moves against them. He quit when he found out we were going after them—"

"It's not like we have any other choice!"

"We need to fix this," Suki insisted. "Play it carefully. Not to mention the rumors of him splitting up from us have hit the streets. People are starting to slip away from our grip. Without the Night Wolf's support, the Hounds are nothing." Glaring at Pakku, "You are nothing."

Raising his eyebrows, "I wonder if the reason why you care so much about not offending him is your romantic sentiment towards him. You don't care if he hates us all; you just don't want him hating you."

"If you think I'd debase myself like this for a man, you're very wrong," she snapped. "This is an issue of getting the Red Fang off the streets—"

"Oh, most certainly, but surely it would drive you crazy if this was all an elaborate scheme, wouldn't it? If those two had nothing at all between them other than an instinct to survive and a bunch of ethics? If he was a part of the Hounds, there was at least the hope that sooner or later, he probably would've given in to your sentiments. That's not exactly possible if he quits, right?"

"You're insulting me, Pakku," Suki glared.

"What's so insulting about this? I'm only saying that at least for the sake of your feelings, you should get to the bottom of this."

"It's this loudmouth of yours that drove him away," she hissed. "Ty Lee and I are getting to the bottom of this tonight, and if you want any information from us, keep your tongue in check."

Sokka's restlessness persisted until Piandao came back at dawn with much-needed updates.

"I sent the tip as you suggested. They told me that they would keep my identity in confidence; they're required to do that anyhow by law. The Gansu Department will be raiding the Kyoshi Warriors in the upper ring tonight, probably at around eight o'candle. I also gave the Department information on the Hounds' last hideout; I'm sure they'll have that location surrounded, too, around the same time. I can't guarantee that the others will be there, but the hunt for them will begin. Prosecutions will be intense and frequent all this week. I can tell you that."

Sokka nodded, brushing his hand softly against Ummi's bare back as she nibbled her fingers and snuggled against his bare chest. He draped a blanket over her to keep her warm, occasionally drenching her cheek with kisses.

"Are you going to tell Yue about this? Now that we have the situation settled? Or will you tell her after the raids?"

"I don't know…maybe a little later," Sokka admitted. "I don't want her to freak out over this."

"It'll be okay," Piandao assured him. "With the Kyoshi Warriors out of the picture tonight, she will feel a lot better."

"If it'll be happening tonight, Yue and I won't go back to the lower ring until the coast is clear," Sokka said, gently wiping off a string of spit stemming from the infant's mouth.

"I'm sure Aang and Katara will be more than happy to let you stay here for one more night if you ask. You can just go back tomorrow morning when the chaos is over."

"If I tell Aang about this, he'll put off their trip and stay here, and everyone will be worried. We don't have to tell them anything. Besides, it actually helps if they're not here. If those Hounds find out Aang and my sister were here, they'll suspect that Yue and I were here, too, to see them, and they'll figure out we were in the upper ring the whole time and made all this happen. It's not gonna help the situation."

"Well you three can stay here, at least. Lock yourselves indoors for the night."

"That's not necessary. We're not taking any chances staying in the upper ring — especially when Aang and gang aren't here— and we're not going back to the lower ring immediately, either."

"You don't have to go back to your house, but you can stop by my place for a few hours. I'll be happy to arrange dinner for you. You can leave as soon as the raids are over. Or if you want, you can stay the night. I have a spare room."

"I appreciate that, Master, but I think It's best if we avoid the upper and lower rings altogether until the raids are over. A raid's gonna take, what, maybe an hour with resistance from Pakku and his idiots? We'll give it a generous two or three hours before we get back. We'll drop Katara and the others off at the upper ring monorail, and then we'll hang out in the middle ring—"

They were interrupted with Katara excitedly making her way over to them, prompting them to cut off their conversation. "Our trip is postponed for three more days!"

"What?" Sokka blinked, "But I thought you had to leave this afternoon."

"We're not in a rush. Besides, we want to spend more time with our nuak. Aang said we can push our trip back a few days and still stay on schedule. You and Yue aren't going anywhere, big brother."

As Katara then reached for Ummi, Sokka protested, "Hey, it's our skin-to-skin time!"

"Sokka, you had her for the past two hours—"

"So? Ummi likes cuddling with me!"

"You cuddle with her every day! It's my turn now. Plus, I got her some new dresses. Yue said I can try one on her!" And with that, Katara took her niece and went off to pamper her.

Piandao shrugged, "I guess that solves the accommodation problem."

In the middle of the night following her feeding, Ummi sank back into sleep, submitting to her mother's soothing voice and the gentle sways of her father's warm hold. Yue's song eventually trailed off, descending into a yawn. Rubbing her eyes wearily, "I think she's asleep now. You should sleep, too."

Sokka, though, remained wide awake even as Ummi was tucked in. He took his place on the other side of the bed, losing himself in deep thought.

"What's on your mind, Sokka?"

Looking up at Yue, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it would be too weird if…"

"If what?"

"If…if I changed my last name to Taqqiq?"

Blinking in surprise, "Sokka, I'd never expect you to take a drastic step like that just to convince people we—"

"I know," he said, trapping the adoration and familial bliss in his glazed eyes because there was no way he could tell her that this simple thing was a symbol of everything he ever wanted without making it weirder than it already might be for her. "I definitely think it'll help the situation, but that's not necessarily the reason why I want this."

"Then why…?"

Sighing, "Well…Urumiq is my dad's family name. I don't want to keep holding onto that name…or him or the past, for that matter. And I don't want our Ummi to have Urumiq as part of her name, either. She already doesn't have to, but… but that doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous to be an Urumiq. It would make logical sense for me to change my name to Taqqiq. At least, it would be logical to any outsider looking at us."

"I totally understand that, Sokka, but your anaana took that name, too. Granted it's her married name, but she still chose to be an Urumiq." Her palm settled on his shoulder, "I know how much you love her. I understand you want to hold onto every part of her. Are you sure you want to take this step?"

He nodded, "I'm sure. I'm not gonna risk having anything dangerous loom over us in any way. I know my mom wouldn't want that, either." Swallowing, "Even though we don't know how to navigate this…We did say we're going to be a family no matter what. You, me, and Ummi…"

Yue felt her heart thawing once more, long-suppressed feelings swimming to the forefront. "Last names don't determine families, Sokka. No matter what name you have, you'll always be family. You're always gonna be Ummi's ataata."

He trapped his tears of joy, trying to calm the somersaults in his heart.

"But if this is what you really want, and if you're sure about this, then go for it, by all means."

"But what do you think? Be honest. If you think it's weird, I won't—"

"No," she shook her head, "It's not weird. It's logical and safe. No Snake-Blood will identify you easily," her voice shook as she mentioned the Red Fang's minions, "Spirits forbid those Hounds from coming in contact with Hahn or any Snake-Bloods while they're here in this city…"

"We know most of the Hounds are no longer hanging around our street," Sokka said. "I talked to Gansu and Sensu about increasing security in our neighborhood. They said they knew some higher-ups and talked to them about the incident from the other day. I told Aang about these issues, too, and he said he's been in touch with the Earth King. In another month, there's gonna be a task force appointed to cover every district in the lower ring." Taking a deep breath before confessing, "At least we won't be running into the Kyoshi Warriors after tonight."

"Why do you say that…?"

Noting her nervousness, "Don't worry, we're not involved. It's just that…the Kyoshi Warriors were in the upper ring earlier. They were asking for our records at the University. They didn't get access to them, so they were gonna break into the school tonight."

"Spirits…"

"Don't panic. I told Master Piandao, and he told the Dai Li. Not about us, just the burglary they had planned. Master has friends in the Dai Li, and no one will ever disclose that he gave the tip. The Dai Li said they were gonna catch 'em in their act and arrest them tonight. They probably already did by now. They also likely raided the Women's Center near our street to arrest the rest of the Warriors in hiding. We won't ever have to deal with them if they're imprisoned for many years, which is very likely with an upper-ring burglary sentence."

"That's good to hear… unless they have any plans on getting favors from the Dai Li for their Hound status."

"No, that won't happen. The split between the Hounds and the Night Wolf was made official to the Dai Li."

"Is that good?"

"It is for our purposes," he said. "But don't worry. I'm done masquerading as the Night Wolf. This is just to keep the Hounds out of sight. The Dai Li will be after them like crazy now." He squeezed her hand in reassurance, "I'll make sure we use every resource we have to have them put away for good, but I swear, I'm not getting involved in this at all."

"I know you won't."

"So does this mean you're okay with the name change?"

"If you don't have a problem with it, I don't, either." With a smile, "Besides, I think you're already a Taqqiq. A real good one at that."

"Really?" he grinned.

"But I just worry it'll make things complicated for you down the road…" the spark in her eyes dimmed as nervousness shot through, stirred by her long-cultivated feelings, "If you run into someone you like… And if she asks you why you took my last name—"

"Yue, I told you that's not happening," he insisted, "It's not going to happen, okay? Don't worry about that. I'll never love anyone else like that."

"Anyone else?"

"I-I mean… You know what I mean."

"You keep saying the same thing every time I bring this up…"

"Because I mean it."

Again with those confident statements of his, but she found that she was too exhausted to argue, too sleepy to confront her own feelings that kept threatening to spill over. "Go to sleep. Ummi will be up again in a few hours."

She couldn't deny the skip in her heartbeat, however, as she mused inwardly, intriguedly, Sokka Taqqiq.

"Yeeeaaooww!"

Little Dorje laughed and clapped at Sokka's purposeful squeal, joined by his two sisters. Tenzin hurriedly flattened and messed up Sokka's hair, and Gyatso quickly bent a fierce gust of wind in the tribesman's direction, making his hair stand up straight at a ninety-degree angle again. The tribesman grinned and yelped again, earning another peal of laughter from Dorje.

Yue sat a little distance away from the bending commotion with Ummi in her arms. The tribeswoman smiled in Sokka's direction, watching him repeatedly orchestrate the silly ritual with his nephews. When he glanced in her direction every now and then, she grinned and gently waved Ummi's tiny hand at him in greeting, receiving a beam and a wave back.

The game went on for a little while before Katara coaxed the children into washing up for breakfast. Aang approached his brother-in-law in the meantime with several scrolls and documents, inviting Yue to take a look at them as well.

"The first document is your name change certificate, Sokka. I specifically requested the change on your behalf, so the records office made the process super quick and painless. I also had a birth certificate and some medical records arranged for Ummi." Gesturing to the remaining documents, "Katara has a friend here who's a midwife. She filled out everything in these documents."

As Sokka held Ummi, Yue sieved through the papers which, through a series of notes, described a normal birth of a six-pound, thirteen-ounce baby girl— Ummi Taqqiq, born to a Tribal couple: Sokka and Yue Taqqiq.

"Thanks, Aang," Sokka also looked through the pages, "This is all perfect."

"All we need are yours and Yue's signatures on the birth certificate as Ummi's parents on this last page," Aang gestured to the very last document, "Just signatures, your names are already printed—"

Sokka quickly and eagerly took the nearest quill and ink he could find and signed Sokka Taqqiq in the 'Father' blank. Yue briefly looked over his signature on the blank before looking up at him, at the sight of the infant perched securely in his arms as he planted gentle, proud kisses on her little forehead. The tribeswoman tried to dismiss the warmth currently flooding her chest as she, too, quickly signed her name next to the 'Mother' blank.

"And last but most certainly not the least," Aang gave them one more scroll, "This is a record of all the transactions we agreed to. Both of your funds are being processed. Half and half will be sent out as compensations and debt payments, and the rest are being transferred to your joint account." Giving Sokka a separate document, "This is just a document saying they closed your old account for good."

"Thanks, Aang, this is great. All of it."

As the Air Nomad went off into the kitchen, boasting of his fruit pies that were currently being baked, Yue expressed her alarm to Sokka, "You had them close your account?"

"Yeah, my old account," he said, "I'm not too invested in it. There's not much in there anyway, and whatever's left is going into our family account."

"But why would you want to do that?"

"I thought we talked about this yesterday," he said, concerned, "You said you're okay with us having a joint account—"

"Well yes, of course we can, but you don't have to close your old account for that. Don't you want to keep something for yourself?"

"But I don't need anything," he said. "I mean, you didn't ask for a separate account for yourself—"

"Well that's because everything I end up earning will be for us. What am I going to do with a separate account?"

"Exactly. Everything I earn is for us, too. Why do I have to be so entitled that I get a different account?"

"Sokka, I said you can pay for things, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have anything for yourself," she said, disconcerted, "You're not a slave to this arrangement, and I don't want you feeling like that."

"I don't feel that way at all!" With a soft look, "I'm not trying to make things awkward. I don't have any expectations—"

"I know that, Sokka," she said, not realizing it was possible to feel so warm and worried at the same time, "I just don't want you to be financially disadvantaged by this. I told you that we can handle this together—"

"And that's what we're doing with a joint account," he said. "I'm not going to be financially screwed over by sharing an account with you. I don't understand why you're worried about this, ikkingutima."

"Fine, at least tell me what amount you want us to set aside for your personal use."

"It's our account, our house, our Ummi," he told her patiently. "We're a unit, Yue. I don't have any use for extravagant amounts of money other than for our family expenses. I'm not living some secret life out there."

"You need to think about your future," she insisted. "What if you take a liking to someone, and she gets pissed off that you commingled your funds with—?"

"Yue," gently holding her by her shoulders, "I told you that I'm not going to fall in love with anyone else. If it hasn't happened all these years, it won't happen now."

"Alright, you two, breakfast is ready," Katara interrupted, making her way over to them and bringing Ummi's prepared milk. "I added the kelp extract," she told her brother, "So don't go crazy like yesterday."

"I'll feed her," Yue took the bottle, "Go eat, Sokka—"

"But I wanna feed Ummi-bear!" came his pout, which turned into a grin when Yue acquiesced. He took Ummi's bottle and settled on the couch, talking softly to his daughter and smoothing the tufts of hair on her head as he fed her.

"If it hasn't happened all these years, it won't happen now." A tired, skeptical sigh left Yue, But that makes no sense.

"'The Dai Li's biggest bust of the year,'" Aang read from pamphlet he was holding out of a half-asleep Dorje's reach, "They got 'em."

His announcement earned the attention of those seated by the fire beside him. Supposedly, the pamphlet gave high praise to the Dai Li, describing at length the action that sent the upper and lower rings trembling. This was, after all, the apprehension of the Kyoshi Warriors— the right arm of the body of the Hounds. Leading them away in chains was quite a sight that many citizens beheld.

"The other Hounds likely escaped," Piandao said, "But at least the Kyoshi Warriors are under the Dai Li's custody. Of course, it does not hurt to still be careful."

Yue nodded, housing a wary look but nevertheless feeling that a large portion of her burdens lifted with the news of the arrests. Katara placed a hand on her ukuaq's shoulder, giving her a look of reassurance.

"It's great to see that the Dai Li is no longer hesitating to prosecute the Hounds," Aang said. "But we can take this further. Like getting ring of the three sectors altogether."

"That's too extreme of an idea for the great 'Impenetrable City,'" Sokka huffed, taking the pamphlet with one arm and keeping his other arm wrapped around Ummi, who was currently perched in the baby carrier strapped to his chest.

"Not anymore," Aang said determinedly. "I spoke to the Earth King. Ever since he came back from his world travels, he'd been willing to implement the changes, but he was waiting on a formal proposal of the exact plans. I shared some ideas with him." Pulling a small scroll from the folds of his robe, "An hour ago, my request to meet with him was processed and granted. The Earth King wants to see me tomorrow afternoon. If you want, Sokka, I can take you and Master Piandao with me to the meeting."

"I think that's a great idea!" Katara agreed, turning to her brother, "I know you and Master Piandao will have more ideas on how to improve the lower ring since you've been living there for many years. The real problem here is the discrimination by social class; that's why the upper ring has the best security. But with the plans Aang has so far, it won't be long before the city's three sectors start mixing, and Ba Sing Se will be mandated to give equal security to all of its former sectors. There are going to be more resources for the former lower ring. Redistricting efforts will take place, and the Earth King will take more steps depending on what you want to tell him."

"You guys seem super optimistic about the Earth King," Sokka raised his eyebrows at his sister and brother-in-law.

"We met him before. He's not a tyrant by any means," Katara said.

"If anything, he's very naive," Aang nodded. "He hadn't had the chance to see life outside the palace walls. After he traveled around, he became more willing to discuss the issues that Ba Sing Se has."

"If you're so confident, I think it's worth a try," Piandao said, turning to Sokka. The tribesman, however, wasn't keen on going, judging by his tightened hold of Ummi and his look in Yue's direction.

"We can all go," Aang then suggested, realizing Sokka wasn't budging anywhere without Yue. "You're more than welcome to join us, too, Yue. You can hear for yourself everything we're planning to do to increase security. I'm sure it will make you feel better about it."

"I appreciate that, Aang, but I'd rather be with Ummi," Yue said. "It won't be convenient to bring her to a serious meeting. And also, I kind of don't want to hear any more about the Hounds than I need to.

"That's totally understandable," Sokka assured her. "Master Piandao can keep us updated about the security measures."

"You don't want to go? You won't get another chance like this," Yue said.

"It's okay. Master Piandao can go. We can stay behind."

"You don't have to stay back for me, Sokka—"

"You don't have to go to the meeting, Yue, but we can still go to the palace and enjoy the pampering, right?" Katara suggested. "You guys haven't seen the palace, after all, and the Earth King's hospitality is great. We can hang out in the palace gardens. They have a beautiful sakura blossom wing. It'll be very relaxing and heavily guarded. We can stay there with the kids. They serve some really nice sweets, too."

Despite her lack of interest, Yue nevertheless wanted Sokka to spend time with his sister and her family, especially with the Avatar's family leaving Ba Sing Se so soon. If a visit to the palace achieved that goal, then it was worth it. "The sakura blossom garden sounds lovely. We can stay there until their meeting is over."

"Great! It'll be fun!" Katara exclaimed.

"Then it's settled. We're all going tomorrow afternoon," Aang said. "After the meeting, they'll serve lunch. I know they'll have a feast arranged." Turning to his brother-in-law, "This is a great chance to tell him about the problems with Hounds in the area. And, of course, the threat of the Snake-Bloods. To my knowledge, the skirmishes from years ago already gave the Dai Li a warrant under Earth Kingdom law to arrest or even kill Hahn or anyone with a snake tattoo."

"Speaking of tattoos," Katara turned to her brother and Piandao, "You two don't happen to have one representing the Hounds, do you?"

"We have tattoos of a wolf's claw," Piandao stated. "Well, I used to have mine on my shoulder, but an injury left a deep scar behind. The pigment is no longer noticeable."

Sokka gestured to the back of his neck, lifting his hair a little to reveal a tiny, blue tattoo of a wolf claw resting on his skin. "Guess I'll just have to grow my hair out or scrape off the skin or something—"

"Scrape the skin off? Are you crazy?" Yue frowned.

"Why on earth would you do that, you idiot?" Katara glared at her brother and stood up, walking over to him and checking the back of his neck, "I can't do too much about scars, but I think I can do something about pigments." She summoned a tendril of water from the air and let it seep into the pores of the tribesman's skin at the back of his neck. Nearly a minute later, she extracted the water, which was now colored with the blue pigment. "There, now you're free of that wretched symbol. Don't be an idiot and join some other cult."

"I won't," Sokka thumbed the area of his neck where the tattoo used to be, feeling liberated as if set free from a cage after a decade, "I'm avoiding any and all clubs, even Kungtuk's customer rewards club. Happy?"

Which extracted a smile from Yue, making him grin in pride.

"I still can't believe the Kyoshi Warriors are our biggest problems right now," Aang sighed in disappointment. "I would think they're noble, especially given their history of helping the disadvantaged."

"Unfortunately, that's what a lot of people thought and still think about them, but they're disgusting in every sense of the word," Sokka glared. "There was a time when I, too, thought those warriors were respectable even though they were Hounds. Even when Pakku was an absolute shitface at times, they were usually level-headed. They always wanted to help people down on their luck, and that was inspiring. I thought that was what it meant to be a Hound, too— to help the people who were disadvantaged in whatever way we could— because if my mom had at least had someone to watch her back, maybe she wouldn't have been…"

Yue squeezed his hand comfortingly, earning an appreciative squeeze back. "But I realized I was giving them more credit than they deserve," Sokka continued, "and I was trying to bring meaning to the idea of being a Hound when it was actually meaningless."

"And that's Pakku's doing," Piandao shook his head, "He tried to ruin the boy's life with all this nonsense."

"Pakku, I'm not surprised by, but hearing what the Kyoshi Warriors did to Yue and Ummi, they sound straight-up monstrous," Aang huffed. "Avatar Kyoshi and I rarely see eye to eye, but if there's anything I'm sure about, it's the fact that she'd be highly disappointed if she was here. Seriously, I did not expect this from them. I couldn't be happier that they're now apprehended."

"It's pathetic how they became over the years," Piandao said. "You think you know someone. I personally didn't think Suki of all people would do this. The other day, she was the one who misled Yue. She told Yue that Sokka was badly hurt and was left to bleed out in the street. Poor Yue was in shambles thinking something terrible happened to him. They told her they'd take her to him and held her captive."

"That's just awful."

"I really don't want to say this is an issue of jealousy because Suki's better than that. It's not who she is. At least, I think." Piandao sighed. "But I suppose we will never truly know. The Hounds have surprised us in more ways than one lately."

"Why would she be jealous?" Aang asked.

"She had feelings for Sokka. She had for a while. He obviously didn't feel the same way."

Yue grew surprised by the revelation.

"That's just ridiculous," Aang shook his head, "We're all grown adults here, not petty teenagers."

"I'm not saying that's what actually made her do this," Piandao said. "It's just something to keep in mind, I suppose. I've known Suki for a few years now, and I don't want to believe that she'd do something like that, but…"

"Well she's also of the opinion that using someone as bait will get them closer to the Red Fang." Aang turned to Sokka, "Do you really think she'd do this because of jealousy?"

"Who knows? Just when I think they can't lose anymore dignity, they keep proving me wrong." Sokka glowered. "I'm at a point where I'm no longer surprised."

"Didn't you ever get a chance to tell her you weren't interested?"

"I never had to," came Sokka's reply. "She'd always known it was a waste of time. I never led her on, I never interacted with her; I actually thought she moved on. I heard she had men over sometimes, and I assumed she was dating other people or having flings or something."

"I guess she just needed it spelled out that all these years, you've been deeply in love with Y—" Aang's tongue jarred to a halt, his eyes wide as he realized what truth had nearly fallen out of his mouth. Everyone gawked at him with wide eyes, simultaneously looking at Sokka and Yue.

Sokka looked flushed beyond repair, gawking at Yue, who seemed surprised as she blinked back at him. She had asked him if he was seeing anyone before she asked for this marriage, and he told her he wasn't. Why would he keep this from her? He is also repeatedly saying that he won't fall in love; with what confidence could he make such a statement unless he was already in love with another and wouldn't love again…? But what if he then decided his pity for Yue's destitute condition weighed more than his romantic feelings for that mystery person? What if he was deeming this sympathy to be of greater value than his own happiness…?

The tribeswoman felt her stomach drop. What have I done? "You never told me you were in love with someone for many years."

"I wasn't—!"

"Sokka, I asked you if you were seeing anyone—"

"He's not, he never has," Aang said quickly. Granting an apologetic look to his brother-in-law and covering with, "Sorry, I should've been more clear with my words. Sokka wasn't really in love at any point. It's just an excuse he used to get people off his back. Right, Sokka?"

"Yeah, that's all, nothing major!"

Yue raised her eyebrows.

"It's true, it really was just an excuse I used so people would leave me alone," Sokka nodded frantically. "Gansu is surrounded by several red districts, and there's no scarcity of people trying to literally jump you for…" taking note of the small children in the room, "uh… intimacy… but people tend to leave you alone if you say you're taken, right? That's why I went around telling people I was madly in love with someone since forever. That's why I was masquerading as a pining lover of some mystery woman. That's the only logic behind this!"

"Yeah, and I meant to ask him why he didn't just use this excuse."

"Oh…"

The conversation was interrupted by Ummi's shrill wails.

"Hey, it's okay, panikuluk, ataata's here!" Sokka rocked Ummi gently in his arms, "Hey, Aang, do that marble trick again."

"Lookie here, Ummi-bear!" Aang whipped out a marble excitedly from the sleeve of his Air Nomad robe. Within seconds, it spun wildly and hovered between his palms, but it didn't do much to distract the infant.

"Does she need to be changed?" Katara asked.

"No, I just changed her, and she had her milk."

"I think she's just cranky. It's time for bed anyway," Yue said, taking Ummi into her arms. The infant calmed from her mother's voice and clung to her, her cries descending into little whimpers.

"You just missed anaana, didn't you, Ums?" Sokka kissed the infant's little hand. "We can tuck Ummi in together," he suggested sweetly.

"It's fine, Sokka, I got her. Just relax."

"I've been relaxing all day, it's fine—"

"It's okay. You guys feel free to chat."

"I think we're gonna turn in for the night, too, honestly," Katara held back a yawn. "Come on, Je-bear, time for bed."

Dorje climbed out of his father's lap and waddled over to his mother, clinging to her tunic. Everyone bid their goodnights with Yue retreating to their room with Ummi.

Sokka frowned at his brother-in-law, "That was a good save, but please be careful next time."

"Sorry, Sokka, it just slipped, and I totally forgot—"

"Instead of coming after my husband, you can just tell her the truth about your all-consuming passionate feelings," Katara told her brother.

"I told you I'm not risking it, Katara!"

"He's terrified of separation," Piandao said. "He made a fuss about telling her his identity, and even when she found out, she didn't leave. He made a fuss about asking her to marry him and let him be Ummi's dad, but she was the one who ended up asking him and agreeing to his request. And now he's making a fuss about telling her his feelings. But I don't think he realizes that if Yue had any doubts, she wouldn't have come this far. From what I learned about her these past few days, she seems too cautious to experiment."

Sokka could only bask in his anxiety, repeating, "I'm not taking any risks, guys. I might've gotten lucky the first two times, but I'm not pushing my luck any further."

In the haze of exhaustion, Yue glanced over to Sokka, whose hand reached for Ummi's little fist. He beamed as she clutched his finger tightly in her sleep, and he kissed the top of her head with a quiet squee. He flashed Yue a grin, and she managed a smile back, but it was clear that she had a lot weighing in on her mind.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem distracted by something."

She shook her head, "Not really, no."

Frowning, "You're not telling me something."

Figuring that hiding her concern any longer would be futile, she asked, "Did you really never have feelings for anyone? At any point these ten years?"

"You're still thinking about what Aang said, aren't you?"

Swallowing, "Look, Sokka, I never intended to stop you from living your life. That's why I asked you if you had someone in your life, and you said you didn't. That's why I dragged us into this."

"I said that because there never was anyone else," he told her. "Yue, I would never turn my back on you and Ummi—"

"That's not at all what I'm saying, Sokka—"

"I'm gonna be in Ummi's life forever. I'll never abandon her. I'll never abandon you."

"I know you would never do that," she said, trying to calm the flutters in her heart. "I'm saying you shouldn't ever sacrifice anything because you don't want to turn your back on us. I don't want you to feel restricted by our arrangement. The last thing I need is for you to deny your feelings for anyone because you feel like you absolutely need to be there for me and Ummi. But if you fall in love with someone, I won't be offended, I promise. It's a great thing. You won't be turning your back on us by finding love—"

"You really think I'm that selfless?" he frowned. "Come on, ikkingutima, you know I was never that selfless. I never saw anyone else that way, I promise. I'm not sacrificing anything. I'm a simple man. I'm going to be with the people I love and no one else, I…" he trailed off, catching himself before his feelings slipped.

Yue's concern, though, was intact, not necessarily out of lack of trust but more out of her own fears and bubbling feelings. She was so afraid that she would burst out her affections in the heat of that moment because Spirits, great Spirits, she loved him. She had loved him for so long. And she loved that he loved Ummi as much as she did. Ten torturous years of not contacting him given Hahn's demonic surveillance, and now, Sokka was back in her life. And seeing him be the best thing to ever happen to her and Ummi, hearing him repeatedly call them a family… It made her believe, even if for a moment, that Ummi really was the symbol of their union. But their marriage was not one of love, was it? Despite her feelings for him, despite how she meant every word of her vows, it was still her desperate attempt at protecting Ummi. She did not come to Ba Sing Se for love whereas that was what Sokka needed the most. She could show him the love she had for him but never demand it from him in return, could she? She would never force him to be in a relationship that demanded much more than friendship. She would hate herself if all of this affection ended up being a result of sympathy alone.

"You really wanna know who's in my heart right now?"

Holding her breath, "Yes."

He shoved the lid over his heart to a close, keeping his feelings contained but letting a slip of truth, a ray of vulnerability shoot through. "Fine." His hand softly clutched Ummi's as he looked determinedly, sincerely at Yue, "This little lady right here has my heart. All I want is to be the best dad I can be to her. Just like you want to be the best mom to her. This is the truth. I hadn't been seeing anyone, and I really don't have anyone else in my life. I have no reason to hide anything from you. I'm not denying anything. You understood me and told me you'll both always be with me, and that right there is everything I want."

"We will be there for you, and that will never change. We just don't want your sympathy to take over your life—"

"Sympathy?" he gawked at her, incredulous and offended. "Is that really what you think I feel for you and Ummi?"

Softening her eyes, "I didn't mean it like that—"

"Yue, please," he said anxiously, "Why are you talking like this? I told you I want this. We went over this the other day! Did I ever make it seem like I didn't want this or like I don't love Ummi—?"

"I know you love Ummi, Sokka. I would be dumb if I said otherwise. I'm only saying that you also have the right to pursue someone and start your own family with that person. I can see that you want to be a father deep down, and I know you will be an awesome one. Just as you're an awesome dad to Ummi. And if having your own family is also something you want, I don't want to get in the way of that—"

"Yue, I promise you, you're not in the way of anything. I'm with my own family right here, right now."

"If that's really how you feel, then Ummi and I are extremely lucky," she said, "but I don't want you 'settling with us' or anything solely because we're in this situation or… because you feel like you don't have a choice or because you feel like you need to do anything for us—"

"I want Ummi as my daughter because I have a choice," he told her. "I love Ummi with all of my heart. I need her as much as she needs me, maybe even more." And he felt his heart being squeezed mercilessly because he wanted to tell Yue so badly that he loved her with all of his heart, too, and that they shouldn't even be having this conversation because he was living his dream right now. But if she thought he took advantage of this situation and hated him and left him… what would become of him…?

"I'm not saying Ummi will never be a part of your life. You'll always be Ummi's dad. I'm saying you shouldn't be single forever for our sake. I want the opposite. I want you to be happy now that you're away from the Hounds. It's a great thing if you fall in love with someone, and maybe there's a way you can be a dad to Ummi and also pursue the person you want—"

"But I don't want anyone else!" he pleaded. "I don't want a life that doesn't have you and Ummi in it. And I don't see myself doing this with anyone other than you, Yue, I swear to you."

"I don't see myself doing this with anyone other than you." She seemed taken aback for a moment, almost caught off guard by the passion that he seemed to exude in that statement.

"I said I respect our family, and I do," he turned away, trying to reel his feelings back in. "You and I are raising Ummi together, and there's no change in this. We both want the same thing, don't we? We're not letting anyone get between us and Ummi. I'm an especially selfish person, Yue. I'm not sharing our Ummi with anyone else."

Her feelings bubbled and leaked out of her eyes as tears, but she turned away and brushed them back before they could plink atop the sleeping infant.

"Ikkingutima, please," he held her hand, "Everything will be okay."

"I'm sorry," she hiccuped, forcing her thoughts aside, "I just…I don't want to get in your way."

"Yue—"

"I would hate to have ruined any part of your life by coming here. I never would've come here if—"

"Oh Spirits, Yue, please. Please don't say that, okay? Don't think of yourself and Ummi as burdens. It's breaking my heart. You have no idea… I was essentially on a suicide mission before you came back into my life, you know this!" Thumbing away her tears, "Did you ever see me moping around like my heart's broken ever since I saw you again? How could you think I had feelings for anyone? Why would I keep that from you? You're my bestest friend ever. I tell you everything, don't I? I used to yap on about that wart on my throatal flap all those years ago. If I had any kind of filter, I wouldn't have gone around saying that to you, would I?"

She let loose a chuckle, "You talked about that for two whole years."

"I did, didn't I?" Cupping her face, "Yue, I'm very happy. I'm the happiest I've ever been, I promise. I'm not going to go looking for anyone else."

Frowning, "But why would you say that? Because you don't think you'll find love? Because you think you don't deserve it? Why would you put yourself down like that? I know you're self-conscious about your scars, but they don't mean anything to someone who loves you for you, Sokka. You're loyal and sweet and smart and desirable. What woman wouldn't like you? Why would you still keep yourself closed off?"

Hope bloomed in his chest. "Do you…do you really think those things about me…?"

Yue was thankful that the lanterns in the room were dim. "Everyone thinks these things when they get to know you," she turned away, trying to dismiss the warmth on her face, "You're a great guy. You deserve to find happiness." Finding that he was smiling at her, "What?"

"Nothing. I appreciate the love." Hiding an elated smile, "Well there's no one out there I'm trying to please. Don't think too hard about this, okay? I don't want you worrying about these things. We're always gonna be together, the three of us." He kissed her forehead. "Are we good?"

"Yeah," she dried her eyes, "We're good."

She settled beneath the covers and shifted close to Ummi, and he snuggled beside Ummi from the other end. "I'll get her when she wakes up, by the way. You sleep."

"You barely slept the past few hours. I'll get her—"

"It's okay, I got it!" he insisted. "Aang and Katara have been hogging our cuddle time, and you get to spend a lot of quality time with her when you nurse her. I'm the one left out! Ataata needs love, too!"

A wide smile bloomed on her lips, "Of course."