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Interlude, Suki
By Keelywolfe
PG
Sokka/Zuko
Summary: Suki has a few ideas of her own
Seventh in a series:
No Turning Back
Division of Time
Conflicted
Manly Pursuits
Interlude: Aang
Say Anything
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If they'd been on the public beaches there would already be a scattering of people taking advantage of the cooler morning to swim and play before the sun blazed out from the horizon but it seemed that even the practically abandoned estate of Fire Lord was deeply respected. Not that Suki was particularly surprised about that. Sneaking a dip on a private beach was hardly worth what might be a very public execution.
Sinking a little on the loose sand as she made her way to the beach, Suki could see that their little section of the shore was empty, save for one figure sitting just far enough from the rolling surf to stay dry. Bare-chested, hands resting loosely palm up on his knees, Zuko was a perfect model of calm meditation, no sign of any inner turmoil.
Suki wasn't fooled. There were fires in this young man that had nothing to do with bending and she was well trained in finding things that were camouflaged.
That didn't make her inclined to interrupt him. She held off for some time, watching him, listening to the low rumble of the ocean as it continued its endless comings and goings.
She wasn't like the others, she knew. Her experience with Zuko was limited to what she had seen on Kyoshi island and everything that had happened after the prison. It was a little surprising how easily she'd been able to forgive him for what he had done. Or perhaps it wasn't. It seemed that, for whatever reason, the former prince was easy to forgive. Zuko had certainly done worse to Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and they'd each managed to forgive him.
Especially Sokka.
She frowned a little, remembering how Sokka had been the night before. Her usually bright, cheery warrior had been morose, moping around their room. Understandable, since Zuko had quite obviously been avoiding them since the disastrous events in the bath the day before. If it hadn't been interfering with her own time with Sokka, she would have let it be, let the two of them settle it between themselves since that seemed to be the way Zuko wanted it. She was fine with that. If Zuko wanted to keep his relationship with Sokka as a private one, it was certainly his right and it was only Sokka's hopeful insistence that they would be an excellent trio that made her agree to begin with.
The first brilliant edge of sunlight crested the horizon and Zuko inhaled deeply with it, tipping his face upward as the first rays slid over him like a caress, turning his normally pale skin into warm gold and gilding the dark edges of his loose hair. The sand around him glittered like tiny jewels and for just a moment, Suki was entranced.
Okay, she'd also agreed because Zuko was pretty hot and making love to him had hardly been altruistic move on her part. She'd wanted him, had been perfectly happy to go along with the idea in hopes that Zuko would join them.
Now it seemed that Sokka might have wanted to consult Zuko about the plan before he'd gone along with it.
But that she'd understood as well. Sokka had little experience in these matters, growing up in his small village, and it seemed like Zuko had very little experience, either. It made her smile a little to think of herself as the Master in this area but Kyoshi island had been quite a good teacher in the lesson of sharing partners.
Leaving them to their own devices hadn't seemed to work since Zuko refused to be cornered by Sokka's clownish attempts, and there was another lesson Sokka could use, stealth, so that left Suki here, feet half-buried in the warming sand watching her lover's lover.
"Did you need something?" Zuko didn't open his eyes, speaking just loud enough for her to hear over the wind and surf. She almost startled, catching herself and scowling slightly. Zuko, it seemed, had paid attention to his stealth training.
"Yes," she said, finally, walking up to stand next to him. When he didn't move, she sank down into the sand next to him, mimicking his pose. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For what happened in the bath. For what we did. I didn't mean for things to turn out that way and I hope you can forgive us."
That made him open his eyes, turning his head enough to flick a glance at her through the tangle of his dark hair. She winced a little when she realized she'd sat on his wrong side, forcing him to turn a little towards her in order to see her better. He held up a hand when she would have continued, silencing her.
"Please. I don't think my pride can take any more of having a beautiful woman apologize for having sex with me," he said dryly.
"But you didn't really want to do it, did you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course I wanted to do it. You're beautiful and strong and smart. I can’t imagine that there are too many men alive who wouldn't want you."
"But..." she prompted, gently.
Zuko sighed, shifting so that he could draw up his knees, wrapping his arms around them. "But I don't love you," he grated out, like he was ripping some deep, dark secret from within himself.
Suki knew better. It was the words he didn't say that were the secret. "No, but you love Sokka. Don't you."
It was like a wall slammed up behind his eyes, inner fire leaping up into them. "It doesn't matter how I feel, all right?"
Suki pursed her lips, considering that. He really believed it, she knew. It was that, she thought, that had made it so easy to forgive him. When it came to bending and sword fighting, Zuko brimmed with confidence and skill, and watching him literally holding flames in his hands was certainly a sight to behold. When it came to relationships, to people...the guy was really screwed up. It made a person wonder why, made her wonder.
She'd only heard snippets, tiny details about Zuko's relationship with his family, but it only took the knowledge of who his father was and one incident of his sister trying to kill them all to put it into perspective.
Suki slid her hand into the sand, cupping a palmful and raised it enough to watch the golden grains seep from her clenched fingers. "I'm not entirely sure that makes sense, all things considered," she said, slowly, "But seriously? It does matter how you feel. It matters how we all feel. Sokka is pretty upset right now."
Zuko's head jerked towards her, his expression stricken, "I didn't mean—"
"Oh, would you stop!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "He's upset because he upset you! He prefers you to be just your normal level of gloomy." She nudged him lightly in the ribs with her elbow. He accepted it, his eyes on the water, digging his bare toes deeper into the damp sand.
Maybe this was going well? Suki couldn't say for sure. That was the trouble with meddling; it had the potential to go so many ways.
"Okay," Suki said, a little dubiously, "So....friends?"
To her shock, he turned and gave her a tiny, surprisingly charming, smile. "I'd like that."
She stared at him a long second, almost too startled to smile back. He was really....cute...when he smiled.
Down, girl.
"I'd like that, too," she managed, honestly."Sokka has plenty of love to go around. So if you don't mind sharing him with me, I don't mind sharing him with you. Just don't try to make him choose, okay? It would really hurt him."
For some reason that Suki couldn't fathom, his eyes dimmed, flicking back out to the water. "I would never do that."
"Okay," Suki hesitated, feeling like there was something else she should say but she had no idea what it was. Instead, she gave into the urge to lay a hand on Zuko's shoulder, warm, smooth skin against her palm reminding her of the bath. It had ended poorly, to be sure, but during, ah, well, if Zuko wasn't so obviously against the idea she wouldn't have minded a second round.
Again, he managed to shock her, turning his head to brush a kiss against her fingertips. "Friends," he repeated, smiling again, just a little.
"Friends," Suki echoed, a little dazedly. "And do me a favor? Talk to Sokka after your Firebending training today? The position of brooding guy has been filled, we really don't need two."
"All right," Zuko agreed, quietly. He shifted back into a meditative pose, eyes closing again.
Suki backed away silently, leaving him to it, and she hoped that he found whatever inner peace he was searching for.
They could all use a little peace.
-finis-
By Keelywolfe
PG
Sokka/Zuko
Summary: Suki has a few ideas of her own
Seventh in a series:
No Turning Back
Division of Time
Conflicted
Manly Pursuits
Interlude: Aang
Say Anything
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If they'd been on the public beaches there would already be a scattering of people taking advantage of the cooler morning to swim and play before the sun blazed out from the horizon but it seemed that even the practically abandoned estate of Fire Lord was deeply respected. Not that Suki was particularly surprised about that. Sneaking a dip on a private beach was hardly worth what might be a very public execution.
Sinking a little on the loose sand as she made her way to the beach, Suki could see that their little section of the shore was empty, save for one figure sitting just far enough from the rolling surf to stay dry. Bare-chested, hands resting loosely palm up on his knees, Zuko was a perfect model of calm meditation, no sign of any inner turmoil.
Suki wasn't fooled. There were fires in this young man that had nothing to do with bending and she was well trained in finding things that were camouflaged.
That didn't make her inclined to interrupt him. She held off for some time, watching him, listening to the low rumble of the ocean as it continued its endless comings and goings.
She wasn't like the others, she knew. Her experience with Zuko was limited to what she had seen on Kyoshi island and everything that had happened after the prison. It was a little surprising how easily she'd been able to forgive him for what he had done. Or perhaps it wasn't. It seemed that, for whatever reason, the former prince was easy to forgive. Zuko had certainly done worse to Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and they'd each managed to forgive him.
Especially Sokka.
She frowned a little, remembering how Sokka had been the night before. Her usually bright, cheery warrior had been morose, moping around their room. Understandable, since Zuko had quite obviously been avoiding them since the disastrous events in the bath the day before. If it hadn't been interfering with her own time with Sokka, she would have let it be, let the two of them settle it between themselves since that seemed to be the way Zuko wanted it. She was fine with that. If Zuko wanted to keep his relationship with Sokka as a private one, it was certainly his right and it was only Sokka's hopeful insistence that they would be an excellent trio that made her agree to begin with.
The first brilliant edge of sunlight crested the horizon and Zuko inhaled deeply with it, tipping his face upward as the first rays slid over him like a caress, turning his normally pale skin into warm gold and gilding the dark edges of his loose hair. The sand around him glittered like tiny jewels and for just a moment, Suki was entranced.
Okay, she'd also agreed because Zuko was pretty hot and making love to him had hardly been altruistic move on her part. She'd wanted him, had been perfectly happy to go along with the idea in hopes that Zuko would join them.
Now it seemed that Sokka might have wanted to consult Zuko about the plan before he'd gone along with it.
But that she'd understood as well. Sokka had little experience in these matters, growing up in his small village, and it seemed like Zuko had very little experience, either. It made her smile a little to think of herself as the Master in this area but Kyoshi island had been quite a good teacher in the lesson of sharing partners.
Leaving them to their own devices hadn't seemed to work since Zuko refused to be cornered by Sokka's clownish attempts, and there was another lesson Sokka could use, stealth, so that left Suki here, feet half-buried in the warming sand watching her lover's lover.
"Did you need something?" Zuko didn't open his eyes, speaking just loud enough for her to hear over the wind and surf. She almost startled, catching herself and scowling slightly. Zuko, it seemed, had paid attention to his stealth training.
"Yes," she said, finally, walking up to stand next to him. When he didn't move, she sank down into the sand next to him, mimicking his pose. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For what happened in the bath. For what we did. I didn't mean for things to turn out that way and I hope you can forgive us."
That made him open his eyes, turning his head enough to flick a glance at her through the tangle of his dark hair. She winced a little when she realized she'd sat on his wrong side, forcing him to turn a little towards her in order to see her better. He held up a hand when she would have continued, silencing her.
"Please. I don't think my pride can take any more of having a beautiful woman apologize for having sex with me," he said dryly.
"But you didn't really want to do it, did you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course I wanted to do it. You're beautiful and strong and smart. I can’t imagine that there are too many men alive who wouldn't want you."
"But..." she prompted, gently.
Zuko sighed, shifting so that he could draw up his knees, wrapping his arms around them. "But I don't love you," he grated out, like he was ripping some deep, dark secret from within himself.
Suki knew better. It was the words he didn't say that were the secret. "No, but you love Sokka. Don't you."
It was like a wall slammed up behind his eyes, inner fire leaping up into them. "It doesn't matter how I feel, all right?"
Suki pursed her lips, considering that. He really believed it, she knew. It was that, she thought, that had made it so easy to forgive him. When it came to bending and sword fighting, Zuko brimmed with confidence and skill, and watching him literally holding flames in his hands was certainly a sight to behold. When it came to relationships, to people...the guy was really screwed up. It made a person wonder why, made her wonder.
She'd only heard snippets, tiny details about Zuko's relationship with his family, but it only took the knowledge of who his father was and one incident of his sister trying to kill them all to put it into perspective.
Suki slid her hand into the sand, cupping a palmful and raised it enough to watch the golden grains seep from her clenched fingers. "I'm not entirely sure that makes sense, all things considered," she said, slowly, "But seriously? It does matter how you feel. It matters how we all feel. Sokka is pretty upset right now."
Zuko's head jerked towards her, his expression stricken, "I didn't mean—"
"Oh, would you stop!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "He's upset because he upset you! He prefers you to be just your normal level of gloomy." She nudged him lightly in the ribs with her elbow. He accepted it, his eyes on the water, digging his bare toes deeper into the damp sand.
Maybe this was going well? Suki couldn't say for sure. That was the trouble with meddling; it had the potential to go so many ways.
"Okay," Suki said, a little dubiously, "So....friends?"
To her shock, he turned and gave her a tiny, surprisingly charming, smile. "I'd like that."
She stared at him a long second, almost too startled to smile back. He was really....cute...when he smiled.
Down, girl.
"I'd like that, too," she managed, honestly."Sokka has plenty of love to go around. So if you don't mind sharing him with me, I don't mind sharing him with you. Just don't try to make him choose, okay? It would really hurt him."
For some reason that Suki couldn't fathom, his eyes dimmed, flicking back out to the water. "I would never do that."
"Okay," Suki hesitated, feeling like there was something else she should say but she had no idea what it was. Instead, she gave into the urge to lay a hand on Zuko's shoulder, warm, smooth skin against her palm reminding her of the bath. It had ended poorly, to be sure, but during, ah, well, if Zuko wasn't so obviously against the idea she wouldn't have minded a second round.
Again, he managed to shock her, turning his head to brush a kiss against her fingertips. "Friends," he repeated, smiling again, just a little.
"Friends," Suki echoed, a little dazedly. "And do me a favor? Talk to Sokka after your Firebending training today? The position of brooding guy has been filled, we really don't need two."
"All right," Zuko agreed, quietly. He shifted back into a meditative pose, eyes closing again.
Suki backed away silently, leaving him to it, and she hoped that he found whatever inner peace he was searching for.
They could all use a little peace.
-finis-
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