The Thief |Sokka

SEVENTEEN

Through the days, Jaya realised there was actually not a single place in the Fire Nation palace that could remain silent enough for her meditation, except perhaps from her room. But that meant she would have to meditate without Aang, and that was a constant neither of them wanted to part with yet, so they left their rooms and headed to a garden, a different one each day, to minimize the chances of the rest finding them. They always did. And most of the time, it was Sokka who did it.

It was only one day before they would have to leave and head to Ba Sing Se. Both Aang and Jaya had gathered their things early on—even though they didn't have much to begin with—and had left their rooms a bit earlier than usual, knowing it would take a while until they would next have the chance to truly be on their own to meditate, as one of them would have to lead Appa so that they wouldn't lose their way at all times, and the rest of their company would be there to interrupt them at all times. Like all times before, however, this time also they didn't have the chance to stay on their own for long. Perhaps an hour had passed when Jaya heard someone sit down next to her. 

They were quiet at first. Didn't move much, if at all, if she were honest. She thought that for a moment it was Katara who had sat down next to her, but she knew there was no chance she would be sitting down next to her while she was meditating. She knew better than that. She thought Toph wouldn't care much about it either, and the same she thought about Zuko. She was certain there was no chance of Mai, Akira or Ty Lee—who had arrived not long ago to support Akira—ever bothering with her or Aang out of the blue, so that really left her with one option – the initial one, although the more the person remained quiet the more unlikely the option became. 

They sat so still next to her she thought at some point they had left. But then she heard Aang breathe out a laugh and she knew they were still there.

"Why are you looking at her like that?"

A moment later, Sokka's voice came, "No reason."

Jaya opened her eyes and turned to face Sokka at once, paying no heed to the shake of Aang's head. He didn't look away, and she raised a brow at him. "What are you looking at?"

"You," he instantly replied. "Has anyone told you your cheeks turn rosy in the sun?"

"No," she softly murmured.

Aang snickered, "Now the blush isn't because of the sun."

Jaya shot him a look. "Be quiet, Aang," she jested at once, her lips being quick to form a scowl. Sokka chuckled and slowly, she turned her attention back to him. "Were you watching me this whole time?"

He seemed unashamed as he admitted it. "It was quite the interesting pasttime. You are going to have wrinkles on your forehead in a couple of years."

"Enlightening," she drawled. She tilted her head to the side and lifted the corner of her lips into a smirk. "Anything else?"

"You look pretty."

"What are you guys going on about?" Aang exclaimed, and when Jaya turned to face him with a grin, she noticed his brows were raised, his eyes blown wide as he looked between the two of them. "You were not like that a few days ago."

"Things change," Sokka shrugged, leaned in and pressed a kiss on the corner of her lips. Jaya's grin widened and Sokka stood up, waved at them and turned away, left as suddenly as he had appeared. She watched him as he left for a few moments and then turned to Aang who was already watching her expectantly. 

"You said I could do what I want," she pointed out, a mischevious glint in her eyes Aang hadn't seen in a long time. "So I am having fun."

"For as long as you don't hurt yourself or Sokka," he advised her, "I care about both of you. I don't want either of you to hurt each other or yourselves."