𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆

Chapter Fifty five
Sokka

A temptress with soft lips, a smile that could melt polar ice caps, and a laugh so sweet it could stop time itself.

All of it, wrapped up in one woman.

All of it, in my wife.

My wife.

I would never get tired of saying it. Of thinking it. God, is this what heaven was? Not clouds or pearly gates—but her. Right here.

"Sokka," she giggled, her laughter a song that tugged at something deep inside me. I kissed her face, featherlight, afraid that if I didn't touch her often enough, she might disappear. Like all of this was too perfect to be real.

"We have to land at some point, you know," she teased, her voice playful but with that gentle reasoning that somehow always pulled me back to reality. "They can't wait forever."

"They can wait a little longer," I murmured, my lips trailing down her cheek before catching hers again. I lingered there, savoring the softness, the warmth of her beneath me, both of us on Emi's saddle, flying above the snow.

Our honeymoon should've ended weeks ago, but I'd found every reason under the sun to stretch it out. Just a few more days. One more stop. I wasn't ready to share her with the rest of the world yet. Not with Katara. Not with aang. Not with the entire tribe or our family waiting to overwhelm us with congratulations and questions. The thought of losing this—this quiet intimacy where it was just us—made me grip her waist a little tighter.

Instead of heading straight for the Southern Water Tribe like we were supposed to, I veered Emi a few miles outside the main village, guiding her to land in a quiet clearing. Snow blanketed the ground for miles, and we were far enough away that no one could find us. No curious eyes. Just the two of us and the sky.

She sighed, that exasperated yet amused sound I loved. I could see the knowing look in her eyes—the one that said she knew exactly what I was doing but wasn't going to stop me. Not yet.

"You know they're probably wondering where we are, right?" she teased, though her hands were already threading into my hair, pulling me down for another kiss.

"Let 'em wonder," I murmured against her lips. "I'm not done with you yet."

She smiled against my mouth, her fingers tangling deeper into my hair, and it was like the world outside of this moment didn't exist. It was just us. Just her. My hands wandered, tracing the curve of her waist beneath layers of fur and fabric, memorizing the feel of her as if I hadn't already spent every night of the last month doing just that.

But still, it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

Her laugh escaped again, a sound that warmed me more than any fire ever could.

"We really should head back," she said, though her fingers didn't stop their slow caress through my hair, and her lips met mine again before I could even argue. "The tribe's going to think you kidnapped me."

I grinned against her mouth, pulling her closer. "Maybe I did. Maybe I'm keeping you out here forever."

She rolled her eyes, but her smile didn't falter. "You wouldn't last a week."

"Ouch, no faith in your husband's survival skills?"

"I have all the faith in the world in you husband, but you'd get bored without something to plan or operate."

I pretended to consider it, giving a dramatic sigh. "Fair point. But I could live with it if it meant keeping you all to myself."

Her eyes softened, and for a moment, I saw that familiar spark in them—the one that always made me feel like I'd somehow won the biggest prize without even trying. She touched my face gently, her thumb brushing my cheek. "You already have me, Sokka. You don't need to keep running."