The Sea of Ice (Sun and Moon Book 2)

Chapter 36 - Snowfight

            “I cannot be certain. You must understand, I was not TRYING to hear, he was just projecting.”

            “Projecting?”

            “His thoughts.”

            “Who was?” Zuko interjects, breaking up my frustrated questioning session. Twila, sitting across from me, sighs.

            “I do not know. I only heard his thoughts in passing, it was not enough for me to garner his identity.”

            “Okay, so what were his thoughts?”

            “He was… irritated. Preoccupied. He is hiding something, I am sure. Whether it is the Avatar or something else, I cannot be certain.”

            “So, how does this help us? You don’t know who he is…”

            “On the contrary, that is the simple part. I was repairing a bridge in the Celair district. It is a residential area, and not very big. It will not be hard to find him.”

            Zuko and I look at each other. It’s not much, and I really don’t trust Twila’s weird mind powers… but it’s better than nothing, and nothing is all we’ve found so far. He nods at me, then looks at Twila.

            “Let’s go.”

**__**

            Her laughter filled the air around them, causing his face to break into a huge grin. He loved it when she laughed. He peeked above the ice dune he was hiding behind--only to get a face full of snow the second he showed himself.

            Sputtering, Sokka rubbed at his eyes. “Hey, that’s cheating! I wasn’t ready.”

            Suki just laughed. “Okay, whatever you say Sokka.”

            Determined to retaliate, he scooped up a huge armful of snow, rolling it quickly into a large ball. Then he ran toward his wife, holding the ball above his head in order to keep his momentum.

            Her blue eyes widened and she turned as if to run away, and Sokka felt very smug.           

            Until, that is, she dropped to the ground and spun into a kick, sweeping his legs from underneath him. The very large snowball dropped onto his own head, and Sokka groaned. Why was this familiar? Oh, right. He could never beat Suki.

            “Are you finished yet?” She held out a hand to him, laughter sparkling in her eyes. Sokka sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re unbeatable.”

            He let her pull him to his feet, then wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. Throwing his weight forward, he knocked them both to the ground, pinning her under him. Grinning down at her, he kissed her gently.

            Laughing, she pulled away first. “I love you, Suki.”

            “I love you, too, Sokka.” She smiled sweetly at him, and he kissed her again.

_____

            They walked back toward the palace, their hands linked. The brevity their snowfight had induced still clung to them, and their smiles were bright and sweet, holding the sense of companionship that only the best of friends can find.

            Despite this, the two knew that their afternoon of fun was merely a temporary break--soon the worry would return. Soon, Hakoda and Kanna’s hushed voices would follow them as they passed through the palace halls, speaking of worries that they didn’t want the young couple to shoulder.

            Soon, they would hear from Kamil again. The Firelord’s assistant was still begging for news, but the Water Tribe didn’t know any more than the Fire Nation at that point.

            The Avatar was gone, they knew that much. And the Firelord and the Water Princess had gone to retrieve him, they also knew that.

            But beyond those two things, who could say?

            Yes, Sokka and Suki knew all of this. Yet, in that moment, walking the quiet paths of ice through the city of snow, they were content.

            After all, Aang was the Avatar. And if there was one thing the Southern Prince and the Kyoshi Warrior knew, it was that Zuko and Katara could do anything together, because they were connected, on a level deeper than any ocean.

            Because Zuko and Katara had something that most people in their world searched for, but never found, something that Sokka and Suki understood.

            Love.

_______

I know it's short, guys, and I'm SO sorry it took so long! I've tried and tried to write, literally. I'd open my laptop and stare at the pages document for ever and... nada. I'm sorry. V.V

This was really hard to write, but hopefully it's a step to getting rid of my writer's block!